Mirroring the Light
by Schauspielerinnen
Summary: Tal has been neatly put down, Milla is forced into a tight situation. Behind it all, there is a political plot, one that will limit the freedom to choose.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Just felt like writing it, since I had the idea for so long. I was so annoyed at the fact all my favourite Seventh Tower fanfics haven't been updated in a long long long long time. And I was inspired by part of the plot in Gundam Seed Destiny anyway. So… enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Seventh Tower, nor do I own Gundam Seed Destiny. I will remind you again when the part of the plot comes in.**

_**Prologue**_

_Almost 18 circlings ago…_

_The Icecarls travelled cautiously across the Ice. This portion was treacherous, weakened by the Slepenish and so dangerous. Their goal was the Selski, travelling away. This was their chance to hunt. They would not blow it._

_A movement caught the eye of one of the Icecarls. Someone – or _something_ – was throwing a bundle down on the ice. Perhaps an enemy._

_She raised her weapon and skated towards him. She was sure it was a male. Before she got there, however, he escaped, leaving the bundle where he had left it._

_She sheathed her sword and approached cautiously. It seemed harmless, but that was the problem with traps. They wouldn't be very effective if you could tell that they were traps._

_But it wasn't one. It was a child, less than a circling old. Much less, as a matter of fact. She wondered what she was doing here, and what she should do. Then she shrugged. Whoever it was, the child was blameless, and should not be left to fend for herself. She bent down to pick her up._

_The ice under her cracked, and in that instant, she knew she had made a terrible mistake. The person who had abandoned the child had thrown her down, weakening the ice further and wounding the child. When she bended over, it was enough to tip the balance and break the ice. She only managed to grab hold of the furs the child was swaddled in before plunging into the icy water._

_The crack of the ice had not gone unnoticed to her companions. In a flash they were beside her, one of them taking the child from her grasp and the others grabbing hold of her hands so that they could pull her to safety. Then they skated away before the entire section of ice broke up._

_Before long both the rescued and rescuer were swaddled in warm furs, and taken back to the ship before more harm befell them. One of her companions leaned over and peered at the child closely. Then she gave a derisive snort._

_"This child is weak. No wonder the parents abandoned her. I would not want her either. I do not know why you bothered to save her. I would have left her to the Ice."_

_"She is weak, it is true," acknowledged the Icecarl. "But the abandonment of a child, no matter what, is a dishonourable thing to do, without the judgement of the Mother Crone."_

_"And what do we do with her now? She would die anyway. Why not save her the trouble and slay her now?"_

_"Hush," said another. The aura of authority was around her, and no one would doubt that she led these Icecarls. "We will take her to the Mother Crone to decide. The decision is not ours to make."_

_The two clapped their fists. "Yes, Shield Mother."_

_They brought the child to the Mother Crone and told her the happenings. The Mother Crone shuffled forward and placed her hand over the child's face. The Shield Maidens fell silent. Obviously, the Mother Crone was going to prophesy._

_After what seemed like eons, but could not have been more than minutes, the Mother Crone withdrew her hand and shuffled back. She did not speak. Whatever she saw, or did not see, she kept it to herself._

_Just then, the child awoke, feeling the vice grip of the Shield Mother. She did not cry, but began to struggle._

_Seemingly alarmed by that, the Mother Crone took the child from the Shield Mother. She did not cease struggling, which brought a smile to the Mother Crone's face. Suddenly, she saw the child grown, fighting, playing a part in the future, as all Icecarls do._

_She also saw what the child's name would be._

_The Mother Crone allowed her to live, under her care, and that of the other Icecarls. She did not speak of her vision, and orders were given to never speak of the child's "birth", at least not till there was a need to know. She was to be treated like the rest, no more than that._

_The pair who had chosen to abandon the child were slain not very long after. Their daughter lived._

_And no one would know what part she would play in the distant future._

_The child was no different from the others, in most aspects. The only difference would be unknown, unseen, till the day she came to fight for her place, and the place of all the Icecarls, in the world._

**A/N: So… that's all I'm going to tell for now. I'm trying to NOT give any spoilers. And… if you like it, please review.**


	2. Conditions of the Ice

**A/N: Chapter 2 is sort of based on Lirael. Not much, but a bit. And I know there aren't many people reading, but for MY sake I post this up.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Seventh Tower or Lirael. Both belong to Garth Nix.**

**Conditions of the Battle-Ice**

The Ice shattered. She plunged into an icy death. She knew it, but she could not do anything about it. Her arms were bound to her. But she was strangely calm. She knew something would happen. She was familiar with the routine. True enough, she did not touch the cold water. A blurry face floated into view. In vain, she tried to see her face more clearly. If she could just concentrate… But as she tried, everything dissolved. Dark power rushed at her. She cried out and tried to run, but she could not move.

The young Icecarl shot up, and looked around the room before she could stop herself. She knew she had a nightmare. Thing was, she didn't know what. The first thing she knew was waking up and sitting in reflex. She couldn't remember what she had been dreaming. She didn't know why she had not called the Crones.

Miria gave up on trying to remember. A dream was just a dream, and there was no point in trying to get what was lost to her. It was almost time for her to wake up anyway. But she just sat there, staring at her reflection on the wall.

Reflected in the golden wall of the Ruin Ship, an ordinary reflection could be seen. Pale face, white-blond hair, green eyes, soft features. She looked much like the other Icecarls. Ordinary. The only physical difference anyone could see was her hair. Unlike the other Icecarls, it was long. She had decided to keep it that way two circlings ago, but when she was finally assigned to a Hand, she would cut it. She was a quarter circling short of eighteen, and still hadn't been assigned to a Hand. Her personality was very different from other Icecarls. The Crones had described her _spirited _for want of a better word, but she knew that they just meant _defiant_.

Sighing, Miria got up. Perhaps this circling she would be assigned to a Hand. She picked up her weapons. Time to grab something to eat. She was going to be late, everyone else would have been in the Cadets' Feasting Hall by now. They'd all get a wonderful opportunity to stare at her, the Shield Maiden who had not been assigned to a Hand for two circlings in a row.

Her mood did not improve when she walked into the Cadets' Feasting Hall and got stared at by almost all the Shield Maiden cadets there. She tried to ignore them, which was no easy feat. Miria let her hair cover her blush and made her way to an empty seat, beside Elza. Elza was two circlings younger than her, and she was the one Miria could get along best with. She grabbed a bowl of Selski meat and sat down beside Elza.

Elza looked at her with an odd expression. "Miria Light-Arrow, what has gotten into you today?"

Miria stared at Elza, puzzled. "What did I do?"

"Well, _normally_ you'd be much more cheerful than this. Whatever happened to the 'Light' in your name?" teased Elza.

Miria flushed. Four circlings ago, she had shown her skill by fighting the Chosen in the second Shadow War. She had shot so swiftly and accurately that nobody would be aware they'd been shot till they were fairly feathered. Hence the "Light", for the speed and accuracy. But here, Elza meant "light-hearted". Just another difference from the other Icecarls. They were all better at sword fighting than archery.

She snapped, "It's not the same." Both of them ate their food silently. Miria felt immensely guilty for taking her mood out on Elza. After all, she hadn't done anything to her.

After a while, Miria became aware of whispering. That was odd. Normally she'd be the only one talking. She asked, "Why is everyone talking today?"

Elza looked up at her. "Don't you know? The War-Chief is returning today!"

Miria perked up. "You mean the one who ended the Shadow Wars? She had been exploring for the past four circlings!"

"How many War-Chiefs do you know?" said Elza sarcastically. "Yes, it's War-Chief Milla Talon-Hand. She's coming back to the Ruin Ship today."

"Hey, do you want to come with me to take a look at her?"

Elza looked at her in the face. "I can't. I have training later. I'm sorry."

Miria's bad mood came back in full force. Unlike the other cadets, she didn't have any more training to undergo. It had passed a long time ago. Elza could see the pain in her face and said once more, "I'm really sorry." The pity in her face was so apparent that Miria felt unhappier.

Miria went skating to calm down. She had discovered that the mindless pushing and balancing had a soothing effect. She wandered about mindlessly for who knew how long, before stopping at the foot of the Mountain of Light. She peered up at the Castle, where she had fought four circlings ago. Then, she had only been a mere cadet, still training as hard as ever. The lights shining in the windows seemed to mock her, like a dream she would never reach.

_Well, at least one of my dreams is coming closer_, she thought mundanely, watching a small bobble of light make its way down the path. _Oh, wait a minute, that wasn't a figment of my imagination, someone is really coming to the Ruin Ship!_

Miria readied an arrow, just in case, and prepared to dash back to the Ruin Ship to inform the Crones. But before she had gone two steps she saw another two bobbles of light coming from the Ruin Ship. Obviously they had already been informed.

Miria nearly panicked, her head jerking back and forth. What should she do? She can't go back, not now. Her eyes fixed on the snow banks. There! She could hide there for now. She skated over at top speed and leapt over the closest bank. Cautiously, she peered over. They hadn't seen her.

Her footprints! She had to hide her footprints! Once again, she nearly panicked. But she kept calm. Calculating their distance, she shoved the snow bank over, creating a snow tide that covered her footprints. Then she scampered to the next snow bank and waited.

She didn't have to wait very long. The two groups of people met up. Miria strained to catch what they were saying.

"I greet you, Emperor Tal of the Castle," said one of the Icecarls formally. Miria frowned. That voice sounded awfully familiar.

"Same to you, War-Chief," replied the Emperor. "Milla," he added. Miria had to stifle a gasp. Two of the most powerful Dark-Worlders were right here. Close enough to talk to. If she had the courage to, that is.

She recognized the next voice instantly. "What is your reason for visiting, Your Highness?" It was the Mother Crone.

The Emperor's voice became more serious. "I came here to warn you about the danger the Castle is in. And it may possibly affect the Ice." Miria was curious. Surely there could be nothing worse than what had happened in the Shadow Wars?

The Emperor continued. "My hands are tied at this moment. A member of the Assembly has managed to win over enough votes for now. His name is Kazhua. He has suggested that I'm too young to rule, and the worst thing is, he's got enough support to put himself in power. He may try to take over the Ice next."

The War-Chief and Mother Crone clapped their fists and said, "We thank you for your warning. We will try everything possible to help you."

There was silence for a while. "You will be careful, won't you?" asked the Emperor in a voice so filled with concern that Miria felt worried herself.

The silence dragged on, until the Mother Crone cleared her throat and said reprovingly, "Milla, where have your manners gone to?"

The War-Chief jerked abruptly and said, "I apologise. Please, would you like to come in?"

"I'm sorry. I have to go back soon. I wasn't supposed to be out here to begin with."

Miria was surprised, all right. She didn't expect the Emperor to sneak out for the sake of the warning the Icecarls.

They left, but Miria stayed, pondering what she had just heard. She lay on the ice until the cold got to her. Sighing, she stood up, brushed ice crystals off her and pushed her hair out of her face before heading back to the Ruin Ship.

Later, when Miria should be resting, she lay awake thinking again. Was Kazhua an idiot? After all, the War-Chief was the same age as the Emperor. The assembly might not have noticed it yet, but it couldn't be hidden forever. And then… Kazhua would go down. The fool had not thought of this complication.

Unless… Miria was struck by a sudden thought. If he had proven Emperor Tal too young to rule, he could just as easily do the same to the War-Chief. Then…

Miria was worried. Would they be able to stand up to a sudden attack by the Castle? After all, the people in the Castle outnumbered the Icecarls in the Ruin Ship.

All these thoughts made it impossible for Miria to sleep. She decided to go to the Hall of the Reckoner, to see if reinforcements were close enough to the Ruin Ship. If they were, her fears could be put to rest. If they were not… Miria refused to take that thought any further.

However, when she reached the Hall of the Reckoner, she could hear the Mother Crone talking to the War-Chief. Something about the War-Chief's voice still unnerved her. It seemed so familiar. Where had she heard it before?

Not wanting to be rude and butting in, she turned away and wandered through the Ruin Ship. She would go back later, when they were done, she decided.

Perhaps they were already making preparations against the threat, she thought. The knot in her stomach eased a little, but did not go away completely. She wouldn't rest till she had comforted herself sufficiently. It was too easy to underestimate the enemy.

After wandering through half the Ruin Ship, she figured that they would be just about done. She made her way back to the Hall of the Reckoner. Some instinct in her told her to walk faster, or perhaps it was the fear in her. Either way, she increased her pace till she was almost running.

At a fur-curtained doorway, she ran headfirst into someone else. Her speed knocked her and the person she slammed into down. She got up, rubbing her head and flicking her hair out of her face, ready to apologise.

But when Miria looked up, she saw an impossibility. Her breath caught in her throat. She could only stare and whisper, "No, no. It can't be. That's not possible. How can it be?"

**A/N: So there you go. As you know, I'm a stubborn person and I don't update unless I get reviews. So… (hint, hint) please review!**


	3. Believe What You See

**A/N: Dang, school's getting on my nerves again. So anyway, I never thought that a story with so few hits would get so many reviews. Thank you, all of you! Also, I know many of you will start drawing all the wrong conclusions when you read this chapter. Just hang on, I'll explain, okay?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Seventh Tower.**

**Chapter 3-Believe What You See**

Miria's first, foolish thought was that she ran into a mirror. After all, the girl that stood on the other side of the doorway had the exact same face as her, down to the shade of the eyes. And Miria was sure that the expression was the same as hers, as though she was truly looking into a mirror.

But as Miria stared, she became increasingly aware that if it was a mirror, it was bending all the rules that governed it. Her "reflection" had short hair, and was wearing the silver furs of the Ursek. Miria wasn't _that_ high-ranking, if she even had a rank at all. And to top it off, on top of her very short hair was a polished white bone circlet.

It was the bone circlet that made her realise that she hadn't been looking in a mirror. Only one Icecarl wore a bone circlet since the time of Danir. Only one Icecarl bore the title that had not been used for two thousand circlings.

Miria clapped her fists slowly, as though she were in a dream. "War-Chief Milla Talon-Hand," she whispered.

Milla's first thought, too, was that she had slammed into a mirror. But she had an easier time disbelieving it. After all, she knew she would _never_ leave her hair that long. And the girl carried a bow. While Milla could use all weapons, archery was not one of her preferences.

It became very obvious that she wasn't looking into a mirror. Besides, why would there be one in a doorway? And if it wasn't a reflection, it could be a free shadow, one powerful enough to take on a human shape. Instinctively, she dropped into a defensive position, Talons held at ready.

The shadow didn't respond. Normally, one would stay as far away from the Talons as possible. In the flare of the light from the Talons she could see that the girl had a natural shadow. So perhaps it wasn't a free shadow of Aenir after all. Then it had to be…

Milla suddenly realised that they were standing there foolishly, doing nothing. She took the other girl by the elbow and guided her to her room. The girl didn't resist. She was still in shock.

When they were out of sight of any inquisitive Shield Maiden cadet, Milla turned to look at the girl again. She had recovered enough to respond then. Milla asked her for her name.

"I'm Miria, War-Chief," she said, clapping her fists and smiling. Her voice sounded familiar and strange to Milla. Then she realised that was what her own voice would sound like if she were gentler and more cheerful. The thought sent shivers down her spine.

"Please, just call me Milla," she said. She didn't know why she was so… so _free_ with Miria. There was something about her that made Milla decide that she liked her. Perhaps it was her spirited ways. Most Shield Maidens she had met were decidedly cold. They were nothing like Miria.

Miria decided to chance a question. "I don't understand how the Crones haven't said anything about it before. Surely they had to notice."

"Mm…" mused Milla. "Were you from the clan of the Far-Raiders?" Genetic flukes occurred sometimes. After all, there were only about a hundred Icecarls in one clan, so the genetic codes were all quite close. Every now and then there would be two Icecarls who looked much like each other. But she never thought that would ever happen to her.

Miria shook her head, her smile sliding off her face as a memory she had always suppressed burst in. "I don't know. All I know is that I was raised on the Ruin Ship."

Milla frowned. "That's strange. The Ruin Ship is not a normal clan-ship. No one is born or raised here. Why would you be kept here for all those circlings?"

Miria shook her head again, feeling frustrated. Here she was, talking to one of the most famous Icecarls alive, and she couldn't even answer her questions. "I don't know either. I'll ask the Mother Crone later, if I see her. I'd like to know why too."

Milla could tell that she had upset Miria, and she regretted ever bringing the subject up. She decided to change the topic. "Can you tell me more about yourself? You know, life for you here." Normally she wouldn't be so talkative, but just _being_ around Miria brought out her bright side.

Miria smiled again and told her.

* * *

_In another room of the Ruin Ship, the Crones watched them. Then their eyes cleared and they looked at the Mother Crone, waiting._

_"Is this wise?" asked one of them, a silver-eyed, old Crone. "At such a time…"_

_"No, I don't think so either," answered the Mother Crone. "But wisdom and necessity do not walk hand in hand all the time." The Crone made as to speak again but the Mother Crone raised a hand, cutting her off. "You have seen the vision, as have I. You know as well as I do that we do not have a choice."_

_Another Crone, a blue-eyed one, spoke up. "If this is so, then why now, of all times? There is not much time left."_

_"It is better to choose the time ourselves," replied the Mother Crone heavily. "It may tip the scales in our favour."_

_"Then should we not tell them everything?"_

_"No. Let them think it a coincidence. A friendship develops better without external influence." The Mother Crone looked around. "We will not tell them. Please do not present her an opportunity to question you. Now go."_

_There was a ripple of sound as the Crones murmured to each other and nodded. They left the room, leaving the Mother Crone by herself. Her eyes clouded as she turned her sight back to the two young Icecarls._

I'm sorry for doing this to you, my Miria, _thought the Mother Crone. _But you may be all that will stand between us and destruction one day. I have watched you grow up and grow stronger. I wish I can tell you how proud of you I am, and will be, child.

**A/N: A bit short, I know. And look! No cliffhanger! I don't want to risk my neck again, haha. I hoped you all enjoyed this… very short chapter. Please leave a review!**


	4. Changing Dreams

**A/N: Whoots! I'm loving this story alright! Am I wack or what? Okay, okay. Start from the beginning. This story only got, what? 100 hits? But I have to say, even if you're not reading, I'd still love this story. So now… evil laugh These few chapters will be shorter, because I want to take things one step at a time. I can promise you chapters 5 and 6 will be longer.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Seventh Tower. Are you actually even reading this to begin with?**

**Chapter 4-Changing Dreams**

"No, you can't."

"Yes, I can. Wanna bet?"

"Why not?"

"Okay then. Loser has to… sing a song! And not just any song. A child's song!" Miria's eyes held a mischievous glint in them, and her lips curved upwards in a smile. "In the Cadets' Feasting Hall."

Milla wasn't sure about it. Her friend sounded very confident, but no way was she going to show her nervousness. She was, after all, War-Chief, and she didn't win the war by showing weakness. Besides, it was a long shot. There was no way Miria would ever make it. "Deal," she said, meeting Miria's playful eyes with a stare of her own.

"You said it," replied Miria. Before Milla could reconsider the wisdom of her decision, Miria had already drawn her bow and released not one, but five arrows. Milla watched as they soared through the air and out of sight. She raised her hand and increased the power from her Sunstone, letting its light illuminate the arrows and their mark. They flew true and struck a rock… 200 stretches away.

Milla couldn't believe it. That was a long shot, and she'd never believe anyone could make it. But, as she mentally corrected herself, the impossible has been proven possible ever since Miria showed up.

She'd never had believed an Icecarl could be _that_ cheerful, especially a Shield Maiden. She remembered Tal describing them as "very scary women with no sense of humour". Then again, Tal had never met Miria, who was practically jumping for joy. She supposed that her very existence proved that miracles were possible; she never thought she could be a genetic fluke, or that she'd meet someone with one.

Miria was looking at her expectantly. Milla was puzzled, then she remembered: she had to sing in the Cadets' Feasting Hall! A child's song, no less. She groaned and Miria laughed out loud. "I don't believe this," she grumbled.

"Well, we bet and you lost. So you have to keep your end of the bargain," Miria called to her, already skating over to retrieve her arrows.

"You didn't rig the arrows, did you?" asked Milla suspiciously as Miria returned with them. She made a grab for them, only to have Miria pull them away. "I knew it! You did something to them!"

Miria laughed. "Nope," she said, handing them to her. "They're normal arrows. You better start preparing for it, Milla. There's no way you can ever slip out of this."

Milla gave her a mock glare and headed back to the Ruin Ship. She couldn't believe she would have to… sing. Of all things, why did Miria have to choose her most hated activity? She should have expected it. After all, in the 60 sleeps since she had met her, Milla had spent a lot of time with Miria and knew all of her secrets. Miria also knew all there was to know about the War-Chief.

As they entered the Ruin Ship, Milla casually brought up the subject of the Crones. "So, any luck?"

Miria shook her head. "No, and if I didn't know better, I'd say that they're avoiding me."

"Do you need help? I could ask them if you want."

Miria shook her head again. "No, this is my personal problem. I'd want to ask them by myself."

A Crone popped out of the doorway. Miria stopped speaking and clapped her fists, trying not to act guilty. The Crone ignored her and gestured for Milla to follow her. After a look at Miria to tell her to go on first, Milla left.

Miria didn't want to go back yet, she was still overjoyed over the fact that she made the 200 stretches shot. She headed out again and watched as the younger Shield Maiden cadets made their way back, exhausted. She hadn't seen Elza for a long time. For some reason, her training schedule doubled. She ran out to greet her.

"Anything interesting happened?" she asked lightly.

Elza made a show of being too tired to answer. Miria took the pack from her and shouldered it instead. "Come on, I can tell you're dying to say something."

"We're going to know our Hands later!" Elza burst out. "I can't believe you actually forgot! You have been waiting for this time for, what? Two years?"

Elza's remark had been lost on Miria as she remembered her most hated time of the circling. She didn't expect this circling to be any different. Then again, she didn't care so much about being assigned to a Hand after meeting the War-Chief. She smiled again and said, "Oh, just wanted to make sure you were still alive. I'll drop this off in your room first and then I'll see you in the Feasting Hall, okay?"

Before Elza could respond Miria had disappeared into the twisting halls of the Ruin Ship. "What's with her?" grumbled Elza.

Miria dashed along the hallways, forgetting that the last time she did so she wound up hurting her head. She didn't know what to feel. Her dream had always been to be assigned to a Hand, but now, with Milla around, she didn't know if she'd ever be the same again.

_Stop it, _she told herself firmly. _Chances are, I'm not going to break the old tradition. So might as well go and hear what they have to say._

She tossed Elza's pack in a corner and turned around, intending to run back. Then she saw a Crone walking along the hallway and groaned. She walked slowly behind her, to show her respect for the Crone.

It took her longer than usual to get to the Cadets' Feasting Hall, and by then, everyone had already assembled there. Elza gave Miria a strange look, which she ignored. Being late, she knew that everyone else would have already given her that look anyway.

A silver-eyed Crone ascended the small platform at the other end of the Hall that was constructed for the purpose of giving out announcements. She took a deep breath and began.

"Today, we shall split you cadets into your respective Hands. As some of you already know, we have an odd number again this year, which means that one of you shall have to stay behind."

Miria's mind went blank. She knew who would have to stay behind. She old herslef she didn't care, that it was nothing, but somehow, she couldn't help feeling disappointed.

"But this circling, the one who has been chosen to stay behind will have the honour of escorting out War-Chief up the Mountain of Light on her… mission."

Miria looked up. For the first time, she noticed Milla standing behind the Crone, looking distinctly uncomfortable. She wondered why she was there, but her attention was drawn back to the Crone.

"For this, we have chosen Shield Maiden Cadet…"

Miria knew who would be called already. Perhaps this year staying back wouldn't be so unbearable after all.

But the Crone surprised her. She took a breath to go on, and uttered a single word: "Elza."

**A/N: Heh, I'm awfully evil, am I? Yeah, I know this isn't up to standard, but I'm in a rush. I'm sorry that I took an awfully long time as well, but my homework load tripled during the exams. Now that it's over, I hope I can update more often as well. Please review!**


	5. The Mountain of Light

**A/N: Well, I know I'm kind of slow, but time constraints stop me from updating earlier. That, and the fact that I have other stories I don't want to abandon.**

**Disclaimer: You all know it already. And I'm sick of reminding you. I DON'T OWN THE BOOK, PEOPLE! NOR THE SHOW GUNDAM SEED!!!**

**Chapter 5-The Mountain of Light**

Milla took a deep breath and took one last look at the Ruin Ship. Knowing the mission, chances were she might never see it again. All the Shield Maidens were gathered in front of it, sending her off. Her eyes skimmed over the assembled ranks of Icecarls, hoping to see one of them for the last time. She knew it was futile, after the way Miria avoided her after the events of the previous sleep. But she couldn't help but try.

Beside her, Shield Maiden cadet Elza stood silently, waiting for her to begin her trip up the mountain. Milla reluctantly accepted that she would not see her friend for the last time, and gestured to Elza to follow as she shouldered her pack and headed to the mountain path.

Milla didn't even feel the cold as she thought about Miria, forcing herself to remember only the smile on her face as she released five arrows into the air. With a jolt, she recalled that she had not been able to fulfill her end of the bet. She wanted to believe that Miria was upset about that, and that only. She made a bargain with herself, that if she ever saw the Ruin Ship, and Miria again, she would do anything her friend wanted.

Milla's thoughts involuntarily turned to Tal. Her feet padded along the icy path as her mind walked along the road of memories she shared with Tal. It had been four circlings since she had really spoken with him. That other time didn't really count. She tried to recall how his voice had sounded when he asked her to be careful. With another jolt, she realised that his well wishes were now wasted.

So absorbed Milla was in her thoughts that she never felt Elza's presence at all. She hardly paid attention to where she was. That was why, when the Perawl attacked, Milla was taken by surprise.

However, her Shield Maiden guard did not. As the Perawl approached, Elza yanked Milla against the mountain. The Perawl turned to attack, but before it got close enough for it's claws or beak to tear through the two Icecarls, Elza drew her bow and swiftly feathered the Perawl into a pincushion. It was dead even before its body hit the road, barely a few stretches from the pair.

Milla ignored the corpse and looked at Elza with a curious glint in her eye. The way she used her weapon was strangely familiar. Elza saw it coming and blurted, "Alright, stop looking at me like that already! I know when my cover is blown!"

The Shield Maiden slid her face mask up the same time as Milla did, revealing the familiar grin of Miria, who didn't look troubled at all, despite knowing how much trouble she would be in.

"Somebody 'overslept' so I came instead," added Miria, answering Milla's unspoken question.

"You mean you swapped with her," translated Milla. Despite her stern expression, she was feeling better already.

"Basically," agreed Miria airily. "Now that I'm here, how about telling me why we're here and why you look so bothered? I'm sure I have a right to know how much trouble I bargained for." She resumed walking as she said that.

Milla quickly explained the current political situation in the Castle as well as she could. Miria nodded, though she hardly understood. Icecarls didn't like politics.

"I'm sure that His Highness is not having the best time of his reign, but you still haven't explained why you look as though you're going to jump off the peak of this mountain." Miria said, waving her hand around to gesture to Milla to cross the bridge spanning the gap first.

Milla didn't answer. She looked down at the gap as she crossed the bridge. She wondered briefly if Miria would understand, but at the same time, she wanted to unburden herself on Miria. Badly.

"Well?" prompted Miria when she crossed the bridge herself.

Milla answered quickly so she wouldn't have time to regret it. "Well, Kazhua wants to encourage Icecarls and Castle-dwellers to get along better. And he thinks he can do that by…" she cut herself off at this point.

Miria needed no more information to derive. "He thinks that by the union of a leader and a…" at this point she was overcome by anger as her face flushed bright red, rare in the pale faces of Icecarls. She took a deep breath to calm down, and when that didn't work, she picked up a rock and started blunting her arrows. It was useful, both in calming her down and in preparation for the Castle. In an enclosed area, she knew that if she missed, she would be likely to hit someone else, but at least an indirect hit by a blunt arrow should allow the victim to survive. At least, taking Miria's shooting skills into account.

"And what are you going to do about it?" asked Miria when she deemed herself sufficiently calm.

Milla shrugged. "Whatever I can. If I don't go, it will be seen as an insult, and our people will not win if the Castle-dwellers decide to attack. We just don't have enough Shield Maidens at present. We're calling for them, but they won't be able to arrive until many sleeps later."

Miria saw the doubt in her friend's face, even though it was hidden well under a blank expression. Now that she was here, she wasn't about to stand around while Milla went through torture. She kept silent, watching Milla and watching out for danger all the way to the Castle.

As they approached the permanent light in the sky, it became obvious that their presence was expected. Kazhua stood in the middle of the gateway with a host of Imperial Guards. Tal stood to the left looking just like how Milla felt. It was a hundred times worse than imagined.

Kazhua broke into a falsely bright smile as he saw the Icecarls approach. "You've finally arrived, my dear." He shuffled forward, partly due to his great weight and mass, and spread his arms out to welcome her in a way that was unwelcome to Icecarls. Milla stared in shock, but suddenly, he froze, staring over her shoulder. Milla surreptitiously followed his gaze and saw that Miria was aiming her bow at Kazhua, an arrow already fitted. A sharp arrow that she hadn't blunted yet.

Slowly, he backed away from Milla. Miria watched until he was out of attacking range before lowering her weapon. She sensed something not right about Kazhua.

She was right. After backing away, Kazhua said, "Would you like an Imperial Guard instead now that you're at the Castle? You don't have to keep that creature here, after all."

Milla ignored his last sentence, as did Miria. "No, she's fine. I don't need any of the Guard."

"Well then, I'll just leave you to get settled down. Send one of the guards to show the War-Chief to her room." With that the crowd dispersed. Milla met Tal's eyes for a moment, before he left. For the first time in her life, she felt like sitting down and let misery wash over her. Tal looked depressed, even more so than her. But she couldn't break down, least of all now. Pushing the image of Tal from her mind's eye, she followed the guard, with Miria bringing up the rear.

**A/N: There you go! I was just wondering, can anyone tell that English is my second language? Is it very obvious? Anyway, I just came in from camping on an island, so to celebrate my return ALIVE I'm posting this up. ****Also, I'm making fun of my villain here. Know what his name means? Hahaha. What I like about ALL OCs is that I can kill them off fuss-free. Anyway, review, and please tell me if it's obvious English is my second language. REVIEW!!!**


	6. Planning

**A/N: I feel like a total jerk for leaving Tal alone for so long. Maybe I should have him saying something now and then. Maybe. I feel infinitely worse for leaving my favourite story for so long.**

**Disclaimer: Are you actually reading this? If you are, I'll say it for your benefit: I don't own the book, I don't own the show (what do you think I'd be doing now if I did? Not this, that's for sure).**

**Chapter 6-****Planning**

Milla paced around her room, fighting the urge to scream and run out. It was like a prison. Actually, she knew it was her prison, and if she didn't come up with a good idea in time, it'd probably be permanent.

For the last 7 sleeps, Miria and she had been doing the same thing all the time. If they weren't on some ridiculous social call, they were coming up with ideas on how to get out of this situation. They had even consulted the Crone Malen, who had nothing to offer them but asking them to trust the Crones. At least they gleaned one small piece of information: Kazhua had command over the Imperial Guard, or most of it anyway, and that allowed him to have any Castle-Dweller, including Tal, executed any time he felt they were plotting against him with the Icecarls. And he didn't have a good temper either.

This information was not welcome to Milla. It was one thing to put her life at stake, or even Miria's if she offered it, but Tal? That would throw the Castle into disorder. Or so she convinced herself.

A soft knock on her door stopped her mindless pacing. Immediately she opened the door and went out. Miria was waiting for her, despite Kazhua's unceasing pestering to get one of the Guard instead. She wore her mask, realising before Milla did that if their resemblance was spotted, she would be slain before anyone could do anything about it.

"Feeling better now?" asked Miria conversationally. Milla grimaced. Just last night she had refused to say anything and basically glared at anyone who had talked to her.

"Sort of," she admitted. The fact that she was only a few days away from sealing her doom made her edgy. Miria, naturally, had taken none of it once they were out of earshot, and had ignored her glares.

"Well, you keep shooting down all my ideas. What can I do then?" grumbled Miria. "I don't see why-watch out!" The last bit was shouted at a young child running headlong into the wall, but the child could not understand her warning. He ran headfirst into the wall, bounced back and began crying.

His mother ran past the two Icecarls and began comforting her son. Milla turned to look at Miria's expression. She could see some relief that the child was alright, but if it were anyone else, they wouldn't have realised. "They're only somewhat different from us, aren't they?" murmured Milla.

There was no reply, but Miria set off at double their usual speed, so they got to the dining hall earlier than usual, and it was empty of any life. Milla took a seat and Miria took up her usual position two stretches behind her, her bow at the ready.

Soon, the rest of the Assembly arrived and the meal went the way it usually did: Tal and Milla were entirely silent, and Kazhua was talking so much no one would have believed he could finish the food on his plate, and everyone else occasionally contributed to the conversation.

Unfortunately, today was not the average one. One of the younger waiters tripped over the leg of the table while carrying the jug of sweetwater. It spilled all over Kazhua's lap. The girl cringed and backpedaled instantly. And to be honest, nobody was going to stop her.

Kazhua's reaction was instantaneous. He stood up roaring at the girl. Miria's bow tautened, directing at him as he ordered for the immediate execution of the unfortunate waiter. The girl tripped and cringed even more, as the Guards glanced at each other, unsure whether they should obey or not. Tal's Keystone flashed red.

Miria glanced at Milla, who had stood up. "No," she said to the Guards. "A little water and it'll be as though nothing happened." And without another word, she swept out of the room, Miria tailing her and making a mental note to look for the girl later.

Miria left Milla alone for some peace and quiet as set off by herself. The stress was also getting to her, even though she tried not to show it. She knew where the little girl Stel stayed, having talked to her sometimes when she went to get food for herself. She headed down to what used to be the Red levels.

Stel's mother was folding clothes when Miria opened the unlocked door. She looked up as Miria said, "Is Stel around? I want to-"

She never got another word out. Stel's mother threw herself in front of a door and screeched, "Please! Don't kill Stel! She never meant to do anything! If you must, kill me instead!"

Miria was slightly irritated by her screeching, especially since she wasn't there to kill anyone. Over the older woman's screams, she shouted, "I'm not here to kill anyone! I'm just here to talk to Stel, I swear!"

Her words cause the noise in the room to abate by far. Stel's mother looked at her with cautious eyes. "Really? You're not here to arrest anyone or something?"

"No, I apologise, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. Do you mind?" she asked quickly. How strange these parents could be when it came to their children, but Miria never knew any of her family so she couldn't understand.

Having assured herself that her visitor was not here to take her daughter away, she opened the door, causing Stel, who had been listening at the door, to tumble out. She frowned at her daughter before taking the pile of neatly folded clothes to put away.

"Hi Stel. You're alright, aren't you?" Miria greeted her.

Stel gave her a brilliant smile and replied, "Yep, thanks to you and the other one there." She sat down on the seat her mother had just vacated. "I don't know why he has such a bad temper."

Miria took 'he' to mean Kazhua. "I know. Stel, can you do me a favour? I need to know everything you know about him." She felt a twinge of guilt at asking a child, but no sane adult was going to tell her, and the "insane" ones were out of her reach. She wasn't going to be able to slip in and out of Tal's quarters without being conveniently slain on the way.

"Sure!" Stel's smile became wider, if that was even possible. "I know he likes the old order better, because he's always talking to himself about it when he thinks no one's there." She giggled a little. "But he doesn't know that the waiter tunnels go past his room. Plus," she lowered her voice, "do you know who Sushin is?"

Miria nodded. Every Icecarl knew that one fool who aided the shadows four circlings ago.

"He's Sushin's brother!" Stel breathed. Her eyes glowed; it was clear she thought this very interesting. "Mother told me not to announce it to the entire world, but you're not the entire world, so I'm not really disobeying her."

Miria committed her words to memory. She had time to contemplate that later. "Thanks a lot Stel. One last thing: don't tell anyone you told me, alright? And as a precaution, stay home for a while." On an impulse, she hugged the girl before waving goodbye and scooting out of the door.

So Kazhua was related to Sushin. That would explain why he was doing this. He probably thought the Spiritshadows were great friends. Miria shuddered at the thought. Although, come to think of it, she could use his temper to her advantage. She would have to work out one small problem though, and do the practically impossible. Her pace increased. If she was lucky, the Emperor would just be taking a walk outside of his rooms.

Luck _was_ on her side. She found him perched on a windowsill, with a blank look on his face, after walking around the upper levels for some time. She hesitated, wondering if this was the best idea. But this was the only idea she had, so if she didn't make it work, she might as well stab herself right then.

Tal was thinking of Milla, and how she different she was from four years ago. This morning, she looked practically more royal than he was. He couldn't leave her to this fate. But how was he going to help her while protecting his family? A frown creased his face.

A scuffling sound roused him, and instinctively his Keystone turned red, ready to incinerate any threat.

Miria watched as Tal's Sunstone flashed. She couldn't believe she was so clumsy as to get herself heard. She swore under her breath, and deciding that the direct approach was best, stepped into the light and clapped her fists together.

Tal blinked and let his hand fall back down to his side. "Did something happen to Milla?" he asked anxiously. He recognised the particular bone mask of that Icecarl.

Deciding to continue with her direct approach, Miria took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, I know you worry for Milla-I mean, War-Chief." She forgot for a moment that she wasn't supposed to refer to Milla by name when there were others around. She lowered her voice and began again, "I have a plan-a bit ridiculous, maybe, but it requires your cooperation."

Tal nodded. This Icecarl wasn't restrained where he was. Besides, he got a good feeling off her and something about her made it easy for him to trust her. "Don't tell me. What I don't know, nobody can make me tell."

It was Miria's turn to blink. What Milla told her didn't prepare her for this. The Emperor had obviously changed. She could foresee that it was going to be easy working with him. "I just need you to do something during the ceremony tomorrow. Pick an aisle seat. You'll know when to get up and block it. It'll be obvious. I… I may have to hurt you."

**A/N: I'm soooo sorry for the long wait. I began this chapter a couple of months back, but I underwent an emotional blow****, of which I'm still recovering from. I also have this sudden interest in **_**Return of the Condor Heroes 2006**_**, probably because it helped in getting over the grief. I had to stop writing because I was so depressed there would have been several suicide attempts in this chapter alone. I hope that you'll understand, and give some support through this difficult time. Thank you, and if you don't mind, review!**

**P.S. Should I get someone to host ANs with me? I have some OCs, or do you want someone from the book?**


	7. Executing the Desperate Plan

**A/N: It's been a long time since I updated anything in particular. And since I'm currently reading Garth Nix (AGAIN!) I decided to continue here. I really need to stop procrastinating. (sighs)**

**Disclaimer: Garth Nix owns the Seventh Tower, not me, and he also owns the First to the Sixth Towers.**

**Chapter 7-Execution of the Desperate Plan**

Miria walked briskly to the waiting room, trying not to look too suspicious. If she was going to help Milla, it would be easier to do it in the open. Not locked up or whatever Kazhua decided to do to prisoners.

She reached the entrance of the waiting room, and knocked softly before entering. Milla was sitting inside, dressed in a ridiculous dress covered with tiny violet Sunstones. Even by Castle standards, it was hideous. Besides, it was so heavy Miria doubted that anyone other than an Icecarl could wear it and keep upright.

Milla didn't smile a bit, knowing that soon, she was going to be bound to some stupid idiot she hated and was likely never to see the Ice again. The heavy gown could have been the chains, with its weight. She had no doubt that this one was entirely Kazhua's creation.

Miria clapped her fists together and took a quick look around the room before running to Milla's side. Milla's face was grave, and she didn't like it at all.

"What is it?" asked Milla. "Are there changes to the schedule?"

"No," the Icecarl guard replied, sounding slightly muffled from under her bone mask. Her usually bright voice was uncharacteristically serious. "I came on my own, to give you these." She pulled out two fur socks from under her furs. "Please, wear them under your shoes."

Milla nodded, though she had no idea how they were going to help her get out of this mess. She just had to trust her friend, and hope that it was enough. She'd know everything soon enough. A small hope grew inside her, and she didn't try to suppress it, since it was all she had.

"I'll see you later then," Miria said, turning around to leave. "Oh, and by the way, you'd want to keep your eyes on the cake." With that, the Shield Maiden left at top speed.

Milla sighed, and pulled off her shoes to put the socks on. Maybe, just maybe, she might require them.

The largest hall at the top levels of the Castle was lavishly decorated. Banners hung all over the place. High-ranking Castle-dwellers were filing in, and a row of Shield Maidens were assembled at the back, near the main entrance. The Crone delegation was already seated near the front, with the Emperor. Miria looked at him once. She hoped he remembered what she asked of him.

The ringing of a great bell signaled the beginning of the ceremony. At once, the chatter died away. Kazhua, with Milla at his side, started down the aisle. Miria snarled under her breath to see him so smug, but otherwise, stood still in the corner. Her breaths began to come more quickly, but she didn't notice. Everything hinged on her shooting skills. She prayed that they were as good as everyone thought they were.

Kazhua and Milla finally reached the front of the hall. This was it. Miria took a step back into the shadows, nocked her bow, aimed and fired two arrows in quick succession. Without waiting for them to hit, she kept her bow and started running.

At the front of the hall, Milla was doing her best to pay attention to her surroundings. It wasn't easy as she expected something to happen any second now. Miria had said to keep her eyes on the cake. Maybe something would happen to it. Though she had to admit, the "maybe" was highly uncertain.

So absorbed in staring at the humongous piece of confectionary behind the muttering man in white that she didn't see the arrows soar over her head. And she didn't see, in turn, the arrows cutting through the ropes that held that great banner up.

However, she noticed when the banner crashed into the cake, splattering everyone close enough with icing. She leapt back in time to avoid the brunt of it. Unfortunately, Kazhua was not so quick and had a faceful of icing. He wiped it away on his sleeve and began one of his now-famous temper tantrums.

That was as far as she got, for then a hand closed on her wrist, pulling her along, past a bellowing Kazhua. A voice beside her ear whispered, "Pretend to be in shock! Hurry!" She obeyed, not knowing what Miria was planning.

Miria tugged on Milla's wrist to make her follow, and made a beeline for the servant's entrance. Her right hand closed around the hilt of her knife, and she drew it, using it to give a shallow cut on the arm to the Emperor, who had wandered into her path in his surprise. She apologised silently in her mind.

Milla's arm stiffened under her hand as she injured the Emperor, causing her to slow down. Miria cursed herself internally. How could she have forgotten Milla's relationship with him? Naturally, she would be outraged at this. There was no time to explain. She tugged harder on Milla's arm, successfully pulling her through the side door.

Once the door slammed shut behind them, Milla felt Miria's grip on her wrist slacken, and let go completely. She then felt Miria's arm around her shoulders, and then heard her voice saying, "Well, we have a head start on any pursuers, but still, we shouldn't slow down. Kick off your shoes, will you?"

Milla did so, though it wasn't easy with the gown weighing down on her. Miria was running all out, and she would have tripped if it weren't for the support of Miria's arm. "What were you thinking? Now they're all going to come after you."

"What, for kidnapping you? Oh, don't worry, I don't intend to let them get me just yet."

That wasn't what Milla was talking about, but the realisation struck Milla heavily. "You're kidnapping me?"

All the while they were running in the least used corridors in the Castle, Miria occasionally shrieking at the top of her lungs to clear their path.

"Yes. You probably would have a problem with that if the guy back there was His Highness the Emperor."

"How can you make jokes at a time like this?" Milla frowned, but inside she felt better. It was great to be with someone like Miria when pulling daredevil stunts like this. But there were more pressing matters. "You're going to be a criminal, and the entire Dark World will be after you. I'm not worth this."

"Wrong, the entire Dark World will be after me only for a while. I'll fill you in when we're safe." Miria suddenly let go of Milla and increased her speed, taking a flying leap and grabbing hold of a ledge above a door. She scrabbled blindly for the outer furs and packs she stowed there, and tossed them down to Milla, who was passing under her. She then let go and took the entire bundle of stuff from Milla.

"Where're we going?" asked Milla once Miria was back on the ground and helping her shove her arms through the armholes of her coat.

"Somewhere," came the reply, though this could be excused as she was busy putting on a coat while carrying two oversized packs. Milla had to admit, she was still pretty quick despite the load.

Then they were out of the front gates. The cold hit Milla like a knife, but she didn't stop running, knowing that the Guards would be right behind her by now. Besides, she figured that they'd be hiding in the Ruin Ship, and that was a long way off, so she better not lose her momentum.

While Milla was channelling her energy in fighting off the cold, Miria was concentrating on their pursuers. She didn't seem to be able to hear anything, but just to be sure, she increased her pace enough for both Icecarls to feel out of breath. If this were to work, they could NOT be seen by anyone.

Milla's thoughts of hiding in the Ruin Ship were scrapped clean when she felt Miria release her and run forward to stand under a very familiar opening. It was the entrance to the heatways. Miria's hands were cupped at waist level for Milla to springboard up. Milla, despite her breathlessness, sped up yet again.

"Get at least two turns in," hissed Miria to Milla when they were both safely in the heatways. "There're furs in your pack, if you want to change."

"What about you?" came Milla's whispered reply as she fumbled with her gown.

"I'm going to make sure no one follows us. I'll be fine, just go."

Milla left Miria crouching at the first turn of the heatways, watching the path outside. Faint shouts were beginning to become clearer. As she watched, an entire party of Imperial Guards ran past the entrance without slowing at all… until the last two. Miria's heart nearly stopped.

"Think we should check the heatways?" Miria heard one asking.

"Nah, we shouldn't, they're already ahead of us, and I don't fancy getting lost in those mazes."

"But they may be in there!"

"Look, maybe that is true but," here the Guard's voice lowered so much Miria had to concentrate to catch the gist of it, "what that Icecarl did was stupid, yet it was more than anyone else did. What say we leave the heatways alone, and hope no one thinks of it?"

Miria couldn't hear any more, but the two of them evidently agreed to stay away, as they continued down the road, their Sunstones flashing. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, proceeding deeper into the heatways.

"Well?" asked Milla eagerly.

"We're fortunate. They won't be checking the heatways. Now let's go before they change their minds. Should we leave this thing here?" the last part was referring to the dress that was now lying forlornly on the ground.

Part of Milla was very happy to see the revolting heap of cloth left there, but the rational part of her desisted. "No," she said decisively. "If we do, it'll attract attention. And if it does, we're in trouble."

Miria nodded and made a face before stuffing it into her pack. From one of the other pouches she pulled out a map. "I got this from the former Freefolk before we left. Do you need it?"

"I might," noted Milla as she folded it carefully and tucked it away into the inner pocket of her furs. "I'll lead, shall I?"

"Go right on, War-Chief." Now that the pressure was off her, Miria seemed to be more cheerful again.

"And I thought I told you before: There's no need for titles; no one's here to hear them," Milla said, making small talk as she made her way through the tunnels.

"How long ago did you tell me? And I thought _I_ told _you_ I don't remember so well?"

"Fine, fine…"

**A/N: Yep, another crappy chapter courtesy of someone whose brain was fried in a training camp. On a more serious note, I apologise for the long breaks in updates as school's getting more demanding. Still, I'd never abandon this story, I love it too much. Anyway, a bit of trivia to make it up to you: Miria's name is derived from the Japanese word for "future" which is "mirai". I just thought of changing it around so it sounds better. I tend to pick meaningful names; in Miria's case, refer to the prologue. Anyone can guess the meaning behind "Kazhua"?**


	8. Back to the Ruin Ship

A/N: Special occasion, special update

**A/N: Special occasion, special update. Pretty elementary.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Seventh Tower. Come to think of it, neither do I own the Sixth or the Fifth.**

**Chapter 8-Back to the Ruin Ship**

The War-Chief and her Shield Maiden stumbled into the former Freefolk Fortress after many hours. The War-Chief was exhausted from maintaining two Green globes of air through the bad air in the heatways, and using Blue light to keep them alive through the searing heat. Miria just barely managed to get them both into one of the huts before collapsing herself and falling into unconsciousness.

Hours later, Milla woke up. She had no idea how long she had been out. The last thing she remembered was stumbling into the Cavern of the Freefolk, so this was where she had to be. But where was Miria?

Milla stood up and walked out, hoping to find the Shield Maiden by the well. Before she got there, though, scratches on the stone floor in front of the hut caught her eye and she looked down to see a message scratched on the stone from Miria. As she read it, she felt helplessness, binding and sickening, come over her. _You had better be right, Miria. Or we'll be in more trouble than we were before._

* * *

A long distance away, a figure climbed cautiously out of the heatways. She slipped on her face mask and paused again to ascertain no one was around. Then she set off down the mountain at a cracking pace.

Miria hoped that Milla would listen to her message and not come after her. Just to cover all ends, she had told Milla that if she didn't return after 3 sleeps, she should assume that she wouldn't be coming back.

Keeping her speed constant, Miria took stock of herself. A bone knife concealed in her sleeve, a Sunstone that Milla procured for her earlier on when they first went to the Castle. Her bow was still serving its function, though battered and more flexible than usual due to the heat from the tunnels and further friction against the tunnel ceilings. But what was most disturbing was her ammunition, or rather, the lack of it. Of the arrows she brought to the Castle, only 5 were still remaining. Thankfully, they were all sharp. She doubted any blunt ones would help on the Ice.

Slipping down the mountain with only a thin beam of light from her Sunstone to light her path, Miria thought about how she would get into the Ruin Ship. If there were Imperial Guards in the Ship itself, then her trip would be wasted. There'd be no way she'd get an audience with the Mother Crone.

Even if there weren't any Castle-dwellers in the Ruin Ship, she wouldn't be able to get past the Shield Maidens – which Elza would no doubt now be part of, realised Miria with longing. For four circlings she had wanted to be part of a real Hand, not some cadet who couldn't get assigned, and when she did, she gave the chance up. With some effort, she pushed the thought away. It was better to think of a plan than be surprised when she actually made it down the mountain.

* * *

By the time Miria got to the bottom of the mountain, she had come up with another desperate plan. She was going to wait until the Shield Maiden shift changed, and go in like she had been there all along. True, she'd probably be attacked once the other Shield Maidens saw her furs, as they were unlikely to be corresponding to those of the Hand, but still, it would give her a fighting chance.

Unfortunately, from the looks of the moving moth-lamps near the Ruin Ship, it appeared that the shift had just changed, so she had a nice long wait. Since it was never advisable to stick around the Ruin Ship without official business, she turned away and started walking around the mountain.

As she walked, she mused. Not long ago, she was constantly uneasy – or, at least, made others uneasy with her cheer and smile when Icecarls were usually frowning or expressionless. She had thought it would change when she was assigned to a Hand and tried more serious things. But no, her free spirit had led her to giving it up to follow Milla to trouble. She hadn't forgotten that she wanted to ask the Mother Crone many questions, but in this state, she might never get to.

Miria might have been more reflective and optimistic than most Icecarls, but she did not lack their alertness. That was how she discovered something was tracking her. If it was what she thought it was, she could forget about helping others. If she got out alive, it would be a miracle. And Icecarls never believe in miracles.

Crouching and pressing herself against the rock jutting out from the mountain, she dimmed her Sunstone and strained her eyes for any sign of the creature. At first, she saw nothing. Then, another noise alerted her to the fact that she had been looking the wrong way. She turned her head and her heart nearly stopped as she saw the distinctive line of light.

A Merwin was stalking her.

Anyone's first instinct would have been to flee. But common sense, as hammered into her since she could walk, told her that she would never outrun a Merwin, much less hide. And that the hunter that strikes first increases her chances of winning.

When she thought that, she knew that she would have to fight. She'd never get out of a short-range fight alive, so it would have to be long-range. Her forte never lay in hand-to-hand combat. If she made it out, she'd never ignore her trainer again.

Drawing her bow, she nocked one arrow and left the other four in easy reach. She would have to pierce the senses of the Merwin. One each for the eyes, one for the nose, and one for each ear. The horn lit the features of the Merwin clearly, so her targeting should not – would not – be off. Unconsciously, she began the Rovkir breathing to calm herself.

As the Merwin's head turned, she struck! Like any good archer, she had compensated for her bow's weakness. The arrow flew true and stabbed into the Merwin's left eye. It reared back in pain. Too late, Miria saw that her second arrow would miss. She had not expected the reaction of the Merwin.

It didn't matter. Her next three arrows did not miss, and stabbed into the Merwin's ears and nose. It roared in agony and shock.

The sound broke Miria's carefully composed calm. Once again, she was reminded about how dangerous even a crippled Merwin was. Panic claimed her and she fled, running clumsily towards the Ruin Ship. She kept her eyes on the ground, not even glancing back at her pursuer. If she fell now, she was as good as dead. And at this point, she felt the incredible need to continue living.

The ground flew by as she ran at top speed. So concentrated she was on the spectacle that she never heard the Shield Maidens calling for her to stop. She plowed right into their ranks and gasped one word, "Merwin!"

Immediately the Shield Mother began barking out orders to the Shield Maidens assembled. The one cadet still holding Miria up threw her behind, not gently, where she tried to catch her breath. Her lungs were burning with the cold air travelling in and out them at such a speed. She watched the Shield Maidens swarming the Merwin, which look slightly worse off when she first met it. Blood was streaming down from its ears and its nose. The arrow shafts had snapped under its thrashing and now the heads were buried in its organs. Miria winced involuntarily as the Merwin thrashed again and she saw its ruined eye in the glow of the moth lanterns.

A light touch on her arm made her turn around. She found herself staring into the strange silver eyes of a Crone. The Crone smiled gently and said, "Come, we have been waiting for you. Worry not, the Shield Maidens shall take care of the Merwin. Come in now."

Lost in the Crone's silver eyes, Miria did not nod until the Crone turned away and began leading her into the Ruin Ship.

Inside, the Crone lead the confused Icecarl through a path of hallways. She stopped at a doorway and gestured for Miria to enter. Her confusion only grew. Weren't they going to see the Mother Crone? How come the Crone led her to a room that was empty, and not only that, seemed suspiciously familiar?

As though sensing the confusion within her, the Crone only smiled more and put one hand on her shoulder to guide her in. She didn't follow, but merely drew the fur curtain and said one command: Rest. The sound of her footsteps grew distant and disappeared.

Miria shucked her outer coat, settled down in a comfortable pile of furs and looked around. While she wasn't bound by the Prayer of Asteyr and so did not have to obey the Crones' every word, she felt that it was good advice. She shifted about to make herself comfortable and shut her eyes.

It was only when she was about to drift off into dreams that she realised what was familiar about this chamber, and shocking that she didn't realise it before: It was her room.

* * *

When she awoke, the Mother Crone was waiting for her in the room, sitting so patiently and quietly that if you didn't look, you wouldn't know she was there.

Instantly she tried to stand up and clap her fists at the same time, causing her to fall awkwardly as soon as she stood up.

The Mother Crone laughed lightly. "Slow down Miria. You can't do both at once."

Miria flushed with embarrassment. She stood up and clapped her fists again. "Greetings, Mother Crone," she said politely.

The Mother Crone returned the gesture, and patted the ground in front of her, indicating that she wished for Miria to sit there. Her expression grew serious. "Miria, I want you to tell me what happened in the Castle. Tell me everything."

Over the next hour, Miria told the Mother Crone everything. Everything from Kazhua's apparent dislike of her, Stel's story, staging the kidnap and even hiding in the Freefolk Fortress.

When she finished, the Mother Crone pursed her lips thoughtfully. Then she abruptly laughed again. "It appears that you are more creative than we had ever expected. The Freefolk Fortress is the one place no one will think of to look for you."

"What do you mean?" Now that Miria had shared her story, she felt at peace. Surely the Crones can take over now. "Have they come to look for us here?"

"Of course they have. They have even left a message for you when their search failed," replied the Mother Crone, still smiling a little. "And injuring the Emperor so that he wouldn't be suspected of his part in the kidnap… that was also unexpected." Her expression soured, "Although you have quite spoiled some of our relations with the Castle-dwellers."

"I'm sorry," apologised Miria. She hadn't thought of it then.

"Don't be," sighed the Mother Crone. "Now then, I believe you have some things to ask me?"

Miria's eyes grew wide. How had the Mother Crone known? But then again, the Crones knew everything, didn't they? And she had to seize this opportunity that might never come again. "Yes," she said eagerly, "I have lots of questions. Especially about why I've grown up in the Ruin Ship."

The Mother Crone sighed again, then – somehow, for some unknown reason – looked sad. "I supposed it is time for you to know the truth. Did you know that you were an abandoned child?"

"Abandoned?" repeated Miria. "How so?"

"Your parents did not die in a hunting accident," whispered the Mother Crone. "They decided to abandon you. Near the Ruin Ship. A Hand of Shield Maidens found someone – your father, perhaps – leaving you on thin ice. A Shield Maiden rescued you, at great cost to herself. Your father was not caught. When we saw you, we knew why you were abandoned. You were not a strong child by Icecarl standards."

"Rescued by which Shield Maiden? Is she still around now?" Perhaps she still could find out more from this unknown benefactor.

"She was slain in combat with the War-Chief, four circlings ago. Her name was Arla." The Mother Crone continued, ignoring Miria's soft gasp and wide eyes. "I chose to let you live, because then, we Crones had seen something." Here, the Mother Crone looked Miria in the eyes. "Most Icecarls are predictable. They live most of their lives the same way. But you? It was mostly blank, because you were something unpredictable. As you grew older, it became harder and harder to see your future. We tried very hard to make you that way. Have you never realised that you would never get into trouble for most of your 'ideas'? And we knew that what we could not have prophesied might be the last hope we had."

"We needed you to befriend the War-Chief. Choosing Elza to accompany the War-Chief up the Mountain of Light? A lie. We needed to know if you were willing to risk everything for her."

"So you used me," said Miria coldly. "You almost didn't expect me to make it back did you?" Now that she knew the truth, it seemed almost easier to pretend that they were all lies. She didn't want to believe any of it.

"Yes," replied the Mother Crone, meeting Miria's cold stare. "But Miria, if it is any comfort to you, while I never really raised you personally, I have watched over you as you grew. I smiled at your victories, lamented over your defeats from afar. You were, to me, more like a daughter than a tool. I see you more clearly than my biological children, who are no longer in existence. I don't wish to give you up, but if I could, I would give up everything now, just to hear your unnatural laugh again."

The Mother Crone rose, signalling the end of the discussion. "You will travel back to the War-Chief now, with a companion and the note that was left. You will find that your companion will be able to read it, even though it is in Chosen script." Looking at Miria, still sitting down, she added, "I leave it up to you to decide if you wish to share with the War-Chief what you have heard today." Following that, she left the chamber.

Miria stayed sitting, feeling too shocked to do anything else. After a while, a Shield Maiden brought in some newer furs for her.

"Really, Miria, why are you so distracted today?" complained the Shield Maiden. Miria recognised the voice.

"Elza?" she asked cautiously.

"Who else?" grinned Elza. "I bet you have loads to tell me, but since the Mother Crone is waiting outside the Ruin Ship for you, and someone else too, it's better to tell me some other time."

"She is?" Miria leapt to her feet. She put on her new furs and ran out. "Thanks," she yelled back over her shoulder.

Elza sighed. "She gets stranger every day."

Outside, Miria made a beeline for the small lights bobbing at the foot of the mountain, but was stopped by a voice behind her.

"Miria."

Surprised, she turned around to see the Mother Crone behind her. "This is for you. The Guards left it when they searched the Ship. It is in Chosen script," she added, seeing Miria struggling to read the note.

"Thank you," Miria said, stowing it into her pack. She made to clap her fists and leave, but the Mother Crone interrupted her once again.

"Miria. I have watched over you for almost eighteen circlings. I would have liked more time, but it is not to be. I will watch over you for not much longer, and then no more. You have grown up so quickly… Now do your duty as a Shield Maiden and friend to the War-Chief."

Miria nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She clapped her fists and turned away. Underneath her face mask, her tears started to flow.

**A/N: Okay, so there WAS a special occasion… weeks ago. So I'm a procrastinator. At least this chapter was one of my longest. And a small joke to make it up to everyone, although I think it's more lame and likely to make you madder at me.**

**J: -taking an entire roll of toilet paper-  
****Z: No! Don't kill trees! –attempts to snatch it away-  
****J: -holds it further away-  
****Z: Don't waste paper or you'll be a tree in your next life!**

**It really did happen though. I thought it was a mild deterrent. So anyway, the moral of the story is, don't waste paper or you'll find tree-huggers coming after you. –sweatdrops-**


	9. Return

**A/N: I finally broke hiatus! 3 weeks before my exams -.-||| which means I'm on another now…**

**Disclaimer: If I didn't own the Seventh Tower back when I last updated, I don't own it now. Ok?**

**Chapter 9 – Return**

At the foot of the path that led up the Mountain of Light, a moth-lamp illuminated two figures upon the Ice. Miria walked over to one of them, her face freezing despite the bone mask. As she drew close, the taller of the two – a Shield Maiden, realised Miria with a faint stab in her chest – held out a Merwin horn sword.

Miria clapped her fist in thanks but shook her head. "I didn't kill the Merwin. This should belong to the Icecarl who did."

The Shield Maiden did not withdraw her hand. "You helped in slaying it. And if the Mother Crone's prophecies are to come true, you have more need of it than any other. Take it."

Miria was glad for the bone mask that hid the senseless tears that threatened to flow again. She took the sword and clapped her fists once more, before strapping it to her side.

"He will travel with you," said the Shield Maiden, gesturing with her now-free hand to the other Icecarl with her. Without waiting for acknowledgement or agreement, she gave Miria the good hunting sign and skated away.

Miria returned the gesture a tad too late, and turned to the other Icecarl who stayed behind. Strangely, he was staring at the road and talking to himself. When she went closer, she got even more puzzled. This Icecarl… Was he speaking to his _chest_?

The pieces suddenly clicked into place in her mind. This must be the Ebbitt Milla spoke of, realised Miria. And that, following that train of thought, must be the Codex he is talking to.

Ebbitt obviously heard her approach, but didn't bother to do anything about it. Miria clapped her fists in greeting and introduced herself. "I am Miria Light-Arrow, of the Ruin Ship." She couldn't resist adding, "Are you Ebbitt, who was once a Chosen?"

"Hmph." The old man snorted. "Who else would it be? And what trouble has my stupid great-nephew gotten himself into this time?"

Miria gestured with one hand for them to start up the path. "You mean, His Highness the Emperor? He's not in trouble. Well, maybe he is," she corrected as she recalled, with some guilt, the cut she gave him, "but it has something to do with politics in the castle."

"Never cared much for politics," remarked Ebbitt, as though Miria asked him for his opinion. "What's the big deal with shooting each other down when nobody who doesn't want to listen won't anyway? I heard from the Crones you kidnapped Milla. I expected that girl to put up more of a fight."

"It's for her own good." Miria glanced around them out of habit and stress. "We have to hurry. The guards from the Castle will be making a sweep along the road any time now."

"Hurry? Of course. This place is freezing. Did you know that the higher you go, the colder it gets?" mumbled the old man absently, obviously talking to the Codex again.

Miria was glad for the Codex. There was so much to find out. And maybe, when the whole thing was over, she could ask it some other questions, questions that had nothing to do with the Castle.

* * *

They got to the heatways shortly before the first patrol made its sweep. Miria was grateful it had begun to snow. It would cover their tracks and make them virtually untraceable. Not that the Guards would have noticed anything. Not being used to the cold, they were more preoccupied with getting the job done quickly, never mind well done or not.

Not that Miria and Ebbitt didn't have their own share of problems. Before leaving, Miria had taken a strand of airweed from a barrel left behind after the war. The air inside was stale, but it sustained her. What she hadn't anticipated was using up most of it. There was no way the two of them would make it through. The chance of one of them making it through the bad air was slim enough on its own.

Ebbitt wasn't perturbed. "Use your Sunstone to make a globe of air, you fool!" he snapped.

Miria didn't retaliate, in part because she deserved it. She looked up from tying her outer furs to her ankle. "I don't know how to," she admitted. If only she paid more attention to Milla before! She slipped the Sunstone off her hand and held it out to Ebbitt. "You do it."

"I am old," retorted Ebbitt. "You are still young. I'll teach you now, and you make it."

"Fine," she huffed. Despite his strange and somewhat cranky manner, Miria quite liked him. He reminded her of the Shield Maiden who had trained her, four circlings ago. Miria never knew her name, but still… "Show me."

* * *

After several false tries, including a globe with no air that nearly asphyxiated her until Ebbitt snatched the Sunstone away, Miria finally understood not to manipulate the Green light the way she wanted, and made two globes of air to Ebbitt's satisfaction. She felt a great sense of achievement. Before this, all she could call up was white light.

* * *

In the Freefolk Fortress, Milla meditated, mainly because there wasn't anything better to do. In fact, the not-doing-anything got on her nerves more than the meditating did. She had long memorized the message carved into the ground.

"Milla! Milla!"

Milla's eyes snapped opened immediately. She scrambled up and ran into the courtyard, knife in hand. To her relief, she saw an Icecarl with long white-blod hair.

Miria was back. "I'm back!" she said unnecessarily.

The other Icecarl didn't escape Milla's notice, but then again, the Shield Maiden standing before her wasn't stupid enough to bring an enemy back. Still… "Who is this?"

"Hmph," snorted the Icecarl. "Forgot all about me. I knew it. Just like that idiot great-nephew of mine."

"Ebbitt!" exclaimed Milla. She turned to Miria. "You brought Ebbitt back?"

"Actually, he was forced on me," Miria said sourly, grimacing at the ground. "He sure was fun coming up."

Milla noted her sarcasm with amusement. So Ebbitt hadn't changed. But Miria was rarely sarcastic, and she was staring very hard at the ground like there was Norrworm under her feet. All together, it meant something was off. No doubt it was exhaustion.

"Alright, enough with the small talking. What is going on outside?"

The Shield Maiden filled her in on the details, occasionally with pointed interjections from Ebbitt to make his point of view heard. When the story was told, Milla sighed. "So they know it was a sham."

"No," corrected Miria, now playing with her sword. "They don't. They only suspect. They have no proof. Ebbitt, where is the Codex?"

"And what of the letter you received?" asked Milla as she watched amusing attempts to get Ebbitt's attention.

Miria looked at her War-Chief's eye for the first time since she entered. "By the shadows. I forgot!" She swore. "Ebbitt, please help me, I don't have time to play," she yelled as she ran over to her pack, dumped by the well. "Here," she extracted the scroll. "What does it say?"

Ebbitt, now that the fun was gone, came back with the Codex in hand. For the first time since Miria met him, he was dead serious. He took the letter and unsealed it. Milla, who had basic lessons in Castle script since becoming War-Chief, stood reading over his shoulder. Her face, too, grew somber, even more so than Ebbitt's.

"What does it say?" repeated Miria. The Codex slipped from Ebbitt and grew to its full size. Words in Icecarl runes appeared on its surface. Miria started reading the translation of the letter, and at the same time, Milla stalked off towards the exit.

"Where're you going?" Ebbitt asked. "Tal knows how to take care of himself."

"No he doesn't," replied Milla. "This is going too far, even for scum like Kazhua." She didn't stop walking or change direction.

"And you think giving yourself up will stop him?" Miria's voice rang out. She straightened up from reading. "You know it won't stop him from ever taking the Violet Keystone, just delay him."

Milla finally stopped and whirled around to face her friend. 'Then what do you suggest?" she demanded.

"I would suggest you take a long trip around the world, but I know you would object to that, so I suggest we not surrender you," was her acidic reply.

"And what about the Keystone?" And Tal. She didn't have to say it out loud. Miria knew that by now, even if she didn't admit it.

The Keystone could only be taken by force from the Emperor.

"I never said anything about leaving Kazhua to do what he wants."

Milla's eyes bored into the other Icecarl, who didn't back down. Instead, she met her stare with an equally forceful one. "So, what do you _really_ suggest?"

* * *

On the rocks above a particular stretch of road leading up the Mountain of Light, two Icecarls hid. One was dressed in the furs that identified her as a Shield Maiden, and the other in a violet dress completely inappropriate for the weather, especially since it was ripped in several places.

That spot had been carefully chosen to be close to the Castle, yet far enough not to raise suspicion. Their actions were also carefully timed, for any mistake could be fatal.

They stood, seemingly waiting for something. The Icecarl inappropriately dressed had her hands bound behind her and her feet bound together with Wreska hide. The other held another strip of hide and a knife. She was unencumbered by anything else, for the purpose of easy escape.

The wind howled all around them, but they stood still, staring higher up. Then abruptly, they saw a brief green flash and moved. The Shield Maiden tied the Wreska hide over the other Icecarl's mouth to gag her. That done, she turned her around carefully and sat her down before kneeling next to her. "Ready?" she asked quietly.

Her "prisoner" nodded. Through the amber lenses of the bone mask, the Shield Maiden could see her, but not detect the faint signs of nervousness and anticipation. She clapped her fists and murmured a soft "sorry" before plunging the bone knife deep, past the thin dress and into her abdomen. No sound was heard, for the gag muffled it. Leaving the knife, the Shield Maiden stood up and shoved the still-conscious casualty off the rocks and onto the road.

**A/N: I got the inspiration to write this very long ago (to be exact, last October to December), but I hadn't had to motivation to type it out. And since you all know I'm going on hiatus for the next 3 weeks, please do leave lots of reviews (or long reviews) for me to come crying to after my exams at the beginning of October (wow… I've left this for so long…)**


	10. Exchange

**

* * *

**

A/N: Ok, so I took a break after my exams. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I had to restore my brain cells!

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Seventh Tower.**

Chapter 10 – Exchange

Tal was not just restless, he was furious. Pacing alone in the Audience Chamber, he fumed silently. So much for rescuing Milla. It hadn't even been four days after the fiasco wedding of the century, and she had already turned up dying in the middle of nowhere.

_I shouldn't have trusted her_, Tal fumed as he sat on his throne. _She wouldn't even show her face._ He wanted to see Milla, but the healer forbade it, so he was stuck worrying on his own.

_At least Milla still lives_. Tal comforted himself with that thought. It was lucky the Guards found her when they did. Unconsciously, he rubbed his arm. The cut was healed, but it stung to think that someone would so blatantly wound the Emperor and attempt to murder the War-Chief.

_If I find her, she's as good as dead_, swore Tal, resting the first two fingers of his hand on his scar. _By the Light, for both Milla and I._

* * *

_I might die. But better me than her. She's needed. I'm not. I overstayed my visit to this world by almost eighteen circlings._

_It's cold. I hate these clothes. They serve no purpose. They can't even keep me warm now._

_That's Ebbitt's signal. Green for on schedule, red for abandon and run. We agreed on that earlier in the Cavern._

_I should probably call the Crones now. I don't want to see any more._

_I'm gagged and made to sit. I can't see it, but the knife is – should be - in her hand. I think she's still reluctant to do it. So I nod to encourage her._

_The next thing I know, blood is pouring out, soaking the dress. My blood. Where it spreads, I feel even colder. But at least I'm too numb to feel the pain._

_The ground falls away. No, I'm the one falling. Without any light, I can almost trick myself into thinking that I'll never hit the ground._

_Then the road slams into me, knocking my breath out of my lungs. Pain shoots up my left side. My arm and leg on that side is probably broken._

_I thought that it might happen. I wait. But even though I know that I might have to wait, I'm impatient. It hurts. They're too slow. I think I fell unconscious at this point, but it's a dream, so I don't._

_Faces surround me. Nobody I know. Guards. Blue light. I don't recall telling Ebbitt… Never mind. The pain recedes and things seems clearer to me. A blanket is thrown over me. My hands and feet are unbound. I'm being carried._

_All expected. But when I look at my saviours again, I see the Mother Crone instead._

The dreamer awoke, sitting upright in one violent jerk. "Mi-" she clapped her hand over her mouth before she could complete the rest and make an mistake.

"My Lady, are you awake?" A woman with bright red hair and green eyes approached her, wearing the garb of a Castle healer. "Do you need water?"

Not trusting herself to speak properly, she nodded, lowering her hands as she did.

The healer smiled sympathetically and turned around. "I'll go get a glass now. Wait for me." She left the room. Milla's Castle chambers.

The dreamer was left alone to sort out her thoughts. This is the room assigned to the War-Chief, she painstakingly recalled, organising her thoughts bit by bit. So that means that I, Miria, am in the castle now, currently masquerading as the War-Chief.

It wasn't hard to make herself look like Milla. They already looked similar to begin with, all she had to do was cut her hair and burn the ends with heat from a Sunstone to erase traces of cutting. The hard part was convincing Milla that she had to appear battered. Or rather, convincing Milla to do the battering.

Well, it worked in any case, thought Miria wearily, stretching her arms to the Sunstone-studded ceiling. Her left side felt sore, as did her abdomen, but it was definitely not intolerable. Now, the next part of the plan would be the problem. When she'd explained it to Milla and Ebbitt she'd made it sound as though she was well-assured of its success, but in actual fact she hadn't figured out all the details.

The door opened, and the healer came back with water, as promised. She held a jug and a glass, both filled. Miria thought it stupid, the way the healer had to manoeuvre through the door as such because both her hands were occupied. Why couldn't she have just left the glass empty?

The healer set the jug down on a table beside the bed and handed the glass to Miria, who took a sip from it and choked. She erupted in a fit of coughing.

In a flash, the glass was taken away and the healer was patting her back. "Easy there, you've been through a tough four days. Your injuries aren't even completely healed. You're bound to feel tired."

Miria's coughing eased. "Thank you. Are you the one who healed me?"

The hand left her back and the glass returned back to her hands. "Yes. Frankly, this is the first time I've seen someone in so bad a condition. Even in the battle four years ago, the injuries were minor. Sip slowly."

Miria obeyed. She raised the glass to her lips and took a small sip. She forced in down her throat. "I've had worse. Why didn't the Crones heal me?" A wonder how different she could sound with water in her.

The healer smiled apologetically. "I would have liked if they did too, for your physique as an Icecarl demands slightly different treatments. But I was specifically ordered by Advisor Kazhua to heal you, so I did."

"I see." Miria could think of nothing else to say. She took another sip as she thought. For once, something Kazhua did was in her favour. This woman wouldn't be able to tell that she wasn't the actual War-Chief.

The healer watched her for a while, then stood up from where she was sitting beside the bed. "I must report to the Emperor now. If you need anything else in my absence, there is someone outside who will attend to you if you call." She headed towards the door. "Do rest more."

"Healer."

The woman turned. "Yes?"

Miria smiled apologetically, carefully. "I do not think I am well enough to receive visitors as of yet." She tried to sound as detached as Milla would have. "I would appreciate if you could let them know on my behalf, as well as deliver my apologies."

"Of course." The healer turned and resumed walking.

"Healer."

"Yes?" She stopped with her hand on the doorknob.

"What is your name?"

"Oh dear, I've forgotten to introduce myself again." She turned, beamed brightly at Miria, placed a hand on her chest and declared, "I am Cerul Erda-Rhond. And I am your healer."

* * *

Cerul entered the Imperial Audience Chamber and curtseyed.

"How is she?" Tal demanded eagerly.

Cerul raised her notes and began reading off them. "Your Highness, the War-Chief has been treated for an abdominal stab wound, a fractured left humerus, a fractured left tibia, as well as multiple scratches in various places. The burns on her neck and face are minor and are healed."

Tal winced at every injury Cerul listed. Not as if he didn't know that Milla's pain threshold was incredible, but the fact that she didn't die was a miracle. "So, am I allowed to see her yet?" he demanded, twisting the Violet Keystone ring around his finger restlessly.

"As for that, your Highness, the War-Chief has expressed her desire for rest and quiet for now, and I am inclined to agree with her. I apologise on her behalf for any inconvenience caused." Cerul bowed again. She tucked her notes under her arm and straightened up to receive her next order.

Tal pondered over it. So Milla had basically refused to see him. But even if he did see her, what was he supposed to say? "Hi, Milla, long time no see. Are you going to throw that sword at me?" That was probably the best-case scenario. But he wanted to know why she refused to see him anyway.

Cerul shifted. Tal noticed it and dismissed her so that she could continue with her work. She curtseyed and left.

Tal stood up and paced. It helped him think. The balance of power was shifting once again. After losing his temper in front of the Assembly twice, Kazhua had lost some support. Which was a considerable blow, since Tal still held the Violet Keystone. And after Milla was kidnapped and injured in his care, the Icecarls in the Castle were treating him with barely concealed hostility.

Now would be the best time to rally both the Assembly and the Crones, decided Tal, heading towards the same door that Cerul had just left through. It was high time that the Emperor joined the game.

As Tal left the Imperial Audience Chamber, with the Sunstones flashing in the ceiling, one thought surfaced. _I see why Great-Uncle Ebbitt hates politics._

* * *

The next day, according to Castle time, Miria hinted heavily to Cerul that she was much better, perhaps even well enough to receive visitors. Consequently, as she had hoped yet dreaded, Kazhua bounced in not long after.

After Cerul's motherly attitude, Kazhua was certainly a cold slap to the face. Miria tried not to flinch as she sat at the table, listening to his overly joyful well-wishes and wordy laments on how her bodyguard, someone she trusted with her life, had betrayed her. With a tremendous effort, she forced herself to hold a conversation with this repulsive man.

"You should have more trust in the Imperial Guards," Kazhua was saying, assisted by numerous hand gestures.

"Yes, I should, seeing how efficient they are at apprehending kidnappers," she couldn't resist saying dryly. "I hear she is still at large."

Kazhua's face turned purple and he sputtered, much to Miria's smug satisfaction. He recovered quickly enough though, and pointedly added, "But you cannot deny that if they had not found you, you would have died."

"Point taken. As a matter of fact, now that there has been an attempt on my life, I would recommend that you increase security on this level as a whole." She silently added, _So they can save me when you decide that I am dispensable._

"Very well," agreed Kazhua. "I will take note of that and ensure it is done. But on to a more pressing matter. The… event that was disrupted five days ago. When will you be well enough to carry through with it again?"

Miria forced a cool, disinterested look on her face as she had seen Milla done before when dealing with overanxious politicians. Now she had begun treading into dangerous territory. "The fact that I am able to see you today like this is proof that I have completely recovered." Which was not a lie. Cerul's treatment had worked wonders, and she could move about painlessly, even perform back flips.

"Good, good. In that case would tomorrow be fine? I am anxious to see this over with and give you the complete protection of the Castle." Kazhua leaned forward. He concealed his eagerness and greed well, Miria had to concede. She hoped she was as good as he was in masking her emotions, at least.

"I am fine with it," enunciated Miria carefully, although she wanted to flinch in disgust.

"Then I shall go tend to the preparations immediately." Kazhua patted Miria's hand, the one resting on the table. The other, hidden from his sight, was gripping the seat tight enough to break it. "You should rest. Tomorrow will be long and tiring for you."

Will immense willpower, Miria forced a semblance of a smile on her face and stood up to see Kazhua out. She kept the mask on until the door closed and his footsteps faded away. Then she sprinted to the washbasin and scrubbed her hand in disdain.

Milla would have done better. Miria let her look of disgust show, even though it was probably not professional behaviour. But she had been close to cracking already.

She stopped just before Cerul entered. As usual, the calm and comforting atmosphere that surrounded her made Miria feel at ease. It was also much appreciated after Kazhua's visit.

"My Lady, how are you feeling now?" Cerul asked, her voice filled with genuine concern, so unlike Kazhua's false one.

Miria shrugged, her face returning to the detached calm of the War-Chief. "Physically fine, but mentally exhausted."

Cerul laughed lightly. "I must agree, politics is a taxing job."

Miria smiled back, but felt guilty for slipping for a moment. Milla would never have revealed how she felt.

A brainwave struck her. "Cerul, do you know who Gill is?"

The healer paused.

"She used to be one of the Freefolk," added Miria, already half-regretting asking.

"No, no, I know who she is. She's a medical student now. I'm just wondering who you want to see her." Cerul looked at her charge expectantly.

"I merely wish to speak of times past." Miria shrugged nonchalantly. She didn't want to lie to Cerul, yet she was worried that Cerul would be endangered if she didn't.

Cerul flashed her trademark bright smile. "Well, I might take a while to find her, so you just sit tight and wait." She waved as she left. The Sunstone ring on her finger reflected the light as she did.

Miria stared at the twinkle until the door shut and it disappeared. Then she scrounged around the room for paper and a charcoal stick. After procuring them, she sat down and started writing a note to Milla and Ebbitt in Icecarl runes. She felt somewhat guilty for always relying on Cerul, but it saved her the trouble of looking for Gill herself.

There was a knock on the door just a Miria finished writing the last rune and folded the note. "Come in," she called out.

The door opened and Gill practically ran in. "Milla!" she squealed. "I thought you were a goner! Why did you come back-"

Miria had risen upon Gill's entrance. Before Gill could say too much and betray them both, Miria placed a finger on her lips, then pointed to the door quickly, indicating surveillance. Gill got the message and changed tack. "I meant, are you alright now?" she asked, closing the door with a definite snap.

"Yes," she replied shortly. She indicated with her hand that Gill should sit, then added loudly, "I have not seen you in such a long time. I hear you're a medical student now. It is fitting." She waved and gestured rather frantically for Gill to keep up the charade for the Guards outside.

"I learnt how to make objects out of Light with my Sunstone. Can I show you some of them?" Gill pulled out a chair and sat down. She turned to face the person she thought to be Milla and hissed, "What's going on?"

Miria took a seat next to Gill and held up the folded note. She pulled Gill close and whispered, "Do you remember how to get to the old Freefolk Fortress? I need this delivered to the Icecarls there. Preferably before tomorrow. Can you do it?"

Gill shrugged. "Sure I remember," she whispered back. "You want me to deliver this to that Shield Maiden, that Elza? This whole thing is a set-up, isn't it?"

Miria had long forgotten that to the Castle, she was "Elza". When Gill reminded her, she was struck by the unpleasant realisation that she seemed to be spending all her time pretending to be someone else, as though she found herself to be lacking in multiple ways. Which, sadly, happened to be all too true. She likened herself to a mirror, always reflecting others' light, but never emitting any of her own.

"Milla?" Gill prodded gently.

Miria started. She'd slipped again. Milla wouldn't waste time thinking about matters unrelated to the task at hand. "Ah, yes. In a way. So, will you help me?" she asked again, holding out the flimsy Castle paper.

Gill took it readily. "Always," she assured her. "But why before tomorrow?"

"I told them that if they didn't hear from me by this sleep, they should leave."

Gill bit her lip, silently calculating the time she would need to travel down to the Fortress. "I'll try my best. I should be able to make it if I go now."

"Then by all means, leave." Miria clapped her fists, silently even though Gill deserved one that can be heard by all. Then she said loudly, "That was an impressive display. Is there more?" She pointed at the note in Gill's hands and mouthed the word "hurry".

Gill nodded in acceptance and concealed the note under her robes. She replied as loudly, "I would love to show you more, but I have an appointment with my mentor now. I must take my leave."

The Icecarl gave her the good hunting sign and said, "Then go. I shall not keep you."

Gill returned the sign and stood up. The chair scraped across the floor loudly. She waved as she passed through the door, for the sake of the Guards. _Now, to the Fortress_, she thought to herself, as her hand closed protectively on the fragile piece of paper in her pocket.

* * *

Hours later, Gill approached the bridge to the cavern. She'd used the most inconspicuous ways to get there. Even though Milla didn't say so, she automatically knew that the journey she was undertaking was dangerous, much like her life four years ago. She was glad her instincts hadn't dulled after four years of complacency.

And now, those same instincts told her to approach with caution. After ascertaining that she wasn't being followed, she crossed the bridge as silently as possible and entered the Fortress in which she had lived, up till four years ago.

* * *

Milla heard the tell-tale sounds of someone trying to be quiet. She continued to draw the bucket up the well so as to not alarm the intruder, all the while observing him out of the corner of her eye, watching him flit from shadow to shadow. Ebbitt had slipped off long ago with the Codex, no doubt to re-explore the place, leaving her to rage and bemoan the long wait alone.

At least she wouldn't have to worry about protecting Ebbitt as well, if that really turned out to be one of Kazhua's goons. Just one sleep had passes since she left Miria at the Castle doorstep, which was too soon for her to recover. So this was probably someone sent to check if the Fortress was currently inhabited.

She gripped the handle of the bucket, still following the moving shadow surreptitiously. The Talon of Danir on her right forefinger extended in response to her tension. If the intruder left, she'd attack. If he attacked her, that would be so much better.

_Come on_, she thought as she lifted the bucket clear of the rim of the well, turning her back to the shadows to set it down. She hoped that whoever it was would be lured by the promise of a successful assault. _I'm waiting._

* * *

Ever cautious, Gill kept to the shadows as she entered the cavern. She moved from shadow to shadow, searching for the intended recipient of the note she now held in her left hand. She hoped that there wouldn't be a need to search the huts as well.

Luck was with her. She spotted someone dressed in furs drawing water from the central well. This must be the Elza Milla spoke of, though she couldn't be sure as blond hair curtained the Icecarl's face.

Best to approach directly, she decided. She was armed but she was one hundred percent sure that she would lose in a fight against a Shield Maiden. She took a deep breath and strode quickly towards the well.

* * *

Milla heard her would-be assailant draw breath and rush forward, not even bothering to conceal his footsteps. She waited until he was two steps away and then sidestepped to the right, sweeping her foot towards him as she did.

He tripped as she intended, but she didn't let him fall. She seized his right wrist and pinioned his arm behind him before showing him towards the well so his upper body dangled over it, face down. Her right hand with the extended Talon was positioned directly below his throat.

All this was done in the space of a single breath.

It was the she noticed the arm that she was pinning down was devoid of weapons. And that her assailant was a girl.

She took a second look. "Gill?"

* * *

Before Gill even knew what was happening, she was dangling over the well. She'd barely had time to say "Ow!" before her arm was pinned behind her and her breath forced out of her lungs. She'd lost her grip on the note for a second because she was so shocked but managed to grab onto it again. Now she was gripping it precariously between the last two fingers of her left hand.

She hung there trying to regain her breath. Behind her, there was a sharp intake of breath and a familiar voice rang out. "Gill?"

Curious, she twisted her head around to look behind her. What she saw made her eyes go wide and her muscles go weak.

"Milla?"

The note fell from her outstretched hand.

**A/N: This is easily the longest chapter that I have written for this fanfic. I actually finished drafting it out before my exams, and it's actually now about a week after my exams. I hadn't anticipated that it'll take so long to type out. And my results will be coming out next week, so expect some time off while I recover from the blow. In the meantime, send some reviews my way to help me get over it XD**


	11. Patience

**A/N: Ok, I confess! ****I spent the whole holiday slacking, and in the end it took me 2 months to complete this new chapter. And worse still, it's even shorter than the previous one. Alright, I'm done confessing. Let's get on with the story.**

**Chapter 11 - Patience**

"No!" Gill shrieked, turning her face down to look into the well. Her free hand scrabbled desperately at the air, but it was of no use. The small slip of paper evaded her grasp.

"Dark take it!" Gill swore and threw herself forward into the well. Milla, shocked by the unexpectedly vicious movement, lost her grip on her. It was only by luck that the Icecarl recovered quickly enough to yank the back of the former Freefolk's shirt, thus saving her from falling totally into the water.

Gill emerged, the ends of her hair sopping wet from their brief encounter with the water. In her hands she held the note, which she had failed to protect from getting wet. Milla pulled her away from the well and pushed her, causing her rear end to connect solidly with the ground. She was bewildered by the harsh gesture until she realised she was trembling and Milla probably didn't want to have to pull her out of the well again.

Which brought her back to the question, why was Milla here? Wasn't she supposed to be more than 56 levels above the Cavern? What in the name of Light was going on?

Milla - if that was really her - took the soggy remains of the paper and laid it gently on the ground, presumably to dry and to prevent any further damage done to it by Gill's shaking hand. The bone circlet on her head reflected the vilet light from the retracting Talon as she bent over. That was when she realised beyond doubt that this was Milla. Which meant that...

"Who is she?" Gill blurted out, and then felt insufferably rude for not even greeting Milla properly, or thanking her before she asked. "I meant," Gill clapped her fists belatedly, "If you're here, then who's the person up there now?"

Milla returned the greeting as she settled down, folding her legs. "A Shield Maiden. Miria. The one who took action at the ceremony."

"She looks just like you," Gill blurted again, and felt stupid for stating the obvious. Milla would have noticed it long ago. Weariness was creeping up on her, as the journey and scuffle began to take its toll.

"It happens when there is a lack of new blood," shrugged Milla impassively. "That's why even though we all live off Selski, we still have to meet every now and then. Were you sent here by her?"

Gill nodded. Now that her curiosity was more or less sated, she felt her eyelids drooping.

"So soon?" Milla's eyebrows were raised in disbelief.

At first, Gill's sluggish mind couldn't connect Milla's question with the answer. She forced herself to focus on the conversation, and by recalling what had gone before she understood. "She's been there for 3 days," mumbled Gill. Now that she was reminded of it, she glanced at the sorry piece of paper lying on the ground. She prayed that whatever was written on it would still be legible, but one glance told her that the chances of that happening were about as high as the chances of Ebbitt being normal.

Milla was silent for so long that Gill began to worry. Then she blew out her breath and reached over to peel apart the paper. Gill's heart sank as it unfolded. Not only was the charcoal writing smudged, some of it had been washed clean during the brief dunking.

Milla continued to say nothing as Gill tried to think of words to fill the silence. She offereed to go back to redeliver the message and even made to get up. Milla quickly stopped her.

"No, it's too late," she said as she placed her hand on Gill's shoulder to stop her from getting up. "You might not get back in time."

"In time for?" Gill's blank expression was augmented by her exhaustion.

Milla didn't sigh, but Gill thought she looked as though she would have liked to. She began the labourious process of explaining everything to Gill. "I believe you are familiar with the power struggle in the Assembly..."

* * *

Milla had to explain everything slowly thrice before Gill's tired mind could take it all in, and even whether it really was clear was dubious. She was clearly reaching the end of her patience. "She was supposed to inform me of the time and location, and I did not expect it to be so soon, neither did I expect it to be you who came," she explained. "Now I believe our best chance would be to infiltrate the upper levels and be ready to move."

Gill stared blankly. The question slipped out before she even thought about it. "Why not ask the Codex?"

It had been a while since Milla had seen the magical object, and the thought of it had hidden itself in a corner of her mind. She was almost appalled at how she failed to consider that option. Almost. Because Ebbitt was still nowhere to be seen.

She began to voice this thought, but another occurred to her. Ebbitt had been gone a long time. Unless he had been caught - and she doubted if that wily old man could actually be taken into custody - he had to return eventually. Even if he had taken a full bottle out with him, without another source of water, it would run dry eventually. Milla's mind worked furiously as she calculated how long Ebbitt had been away versus how long he could last on a limited supply.

"You are right," she conceded. "Ebbitt will return soon and we can ask the Codex. Until then, you should rest-" Milla stopped when she saw her advice was pre-empted and being heeded. Gill had falled asleep the moment Milla agreed with her and was now slumped on the floor.

"I thank you for coming though," she added, even though the sleeping girl wouldn't be able to hear her. She stood up quietly, picked up the furs that lay beside her pack and gently tucked them around Gill, silently grateful for her.

* * *

One hour passed. Then two. Milla kept herself busy by preparing the packs so they could leave immediately after consulting the Codex. She kept time using Gill's Sunstone. Her own (and the one Miria left behind when she left) had been "borrowed" by Ebbitt prior to setting out on his adventure.

Gill awoke sometime in the third hour. Milla offered her the dried food in the packs. Gill ate as Milla willed time to pass slowly and Ebbitt to come back. The third hour went by. The fourth began.

* * *

More than 56 levels above the Freefolk Fortress, most of the Assembly, and a few others, were gathered, headed by the Emperor.

Most, because Advisor Kazhua was prominently missing. The few others included the Crone Embassy and a select group of elite warriors, Imperial Guards and Shield Maidens alike.

The Emperor was speaking. "The Crones have something to share with regards to their War-Chief's kidnapping and Advisor Kazhua's motive." He nodded in the Embassy's general direction to invite them to speak.

The Crone Malen, the appointed representative of the Embassy, stood up. "Roughly four Castle days ago," she began in her clear, bell-like voice, "the Mother Crone of the Ruin Ship received a visit from the Shield Maiden who had 'kidnapped' our War-Chief."

At those words the others began stirring. Voices rose, demanding to know why it had not been reported immediately. Tal held up a hand and the Violet Keystone he wore flashed once, which signalled to the Assembly that they should be silent. The obeyed, some more grudgingly than others, but they obeyed. Tal invited Malen to continue.

"Understand that we kept silent to protect our informants as well as the stability of the Dark World." Malen shot an annoyed glance at the dissidents. Since becoming the Representative, Malen had excelled in public speaking. Tal had no desire to be on the receiving end of one of her frozen stares. "The information passed to us is highly sensitive. We cannot reveal our sources, but it was made clear to us that Kazhua's ultimate goal is to rule the Dark World and bring back the ways of the Chosen."

The room was deadly silent now. Tal, who had already suspected it for some time, was shocked nonetheless to hear it spoken aloud.

"Hence he used the excuse of fostering stronger ties between our peoples to place the considerable resources of the War-Chief at this disposal through your custom of marriage." Here, Malen's face showed a flicker of disgust.

The sole Shield Mother in the room hissed, "He underestimates us," and spat. Her Hand agreed with varying reactions, some as mild as nodding and some vehement enough to start inspecting their weapons.

Malen looked them over once, then turned to the general direction of the non-Icecarls in the room. "Therefore we have decided. Even if there is insufficient evidence, should our people appear to be in danger of coming under the command of Kazhua, we will go to war against him." She held out a hand to the shocked Assembly. "Will you stand by us?"

* * *

With so much time waiting, Gill's mind, though rested, had gone numb. She didn't even notice the shadow creeping into the Fortress until Milla pounced on it and dragged its owner out. The owner protested at the rough treatment.

Gill got up on legs as numb as her mind. Recognising the voice, she said, "Ebbitt?"

Ebbitt came into the light and peered closely at her. "It certainly is, young Gillimof. And how have you been?"

"Don't call me that," protested Gill, even as she subconsciously gave light from her Sunstone. "I've been waiting for you for ages. How can I be fine?"

Ebbitt glanced at Milla. Gill did too, and one look told her that the War-Chief was ready to kill. Unfortunately, Ebbitt either didn't get it or held no fear of Milla, or possibly both. "What have you done to this poor child here?"

"Ebbitt." Milla's voice was as sharp and the Talons she wore. "We may not have much time left. Where is the Codex?"

Ebbitt's wandering eyes fell on the sad remains on the note and as Gill watched they regained focus. He sighed and reached into his furs. His hand came out holding something liquid and shiny. The Codex.

The tense look on Milla's face relaxed a little as she saw the ancient magical object. That was one problem cleared. She stepped forward and addressed the Codex even before it was done expanding to its full size. "Codex, what was originally written in this note?" She held the note in question up.

Block runes appeared on the surface of the crystal. Milla's eyes ran over them quickly, as did Ebbitt's (he had diligently picked up their written language as he joined the Icecarls). "We have to leave now," said Milla, her voice too loud, much louder than usual. "Gill, what's the shortest route up?"

Gill started when Milla gripped her arm and made as to leave. "Wh-What did it say?" she stammered. The Codex provided a translation in Castle script, but Gill's head was turned the wrong way to see it.

She gained some temporary relief when Ebbitt caught hold of Milla's other arm. "No, wait," the old man said, without force but commanding attention anyway. "Recall the second part of the plan. Charging off now will do us no good."

Milla released Gill, who immediately turned back and massaged it. Her eye fell on the translation provided by the Codex and took it in. "Th-that's three hours from now," she squeaked anxiously.

"Codex," ordered Milla. "Where can I gather the Assembly without Kazhua's knowledge in the next three hours?"

_The Assembly is already gathered without him in the former Violet levels._

"What does it say?" asked Gill. Again, the Codex provided a translation.

"Where exactly are they gathering?" asked Milla, pleasantly surprised in the corner of her mind that was still capable of processing things leisurely. Already gathered! That would save a lot of time! Now they stood a fair chance of making it in time.

A map surfaced on the Codex. The rooms it showed were unfamiliar to Milla, but not to Gill or Ebbitt.

"That's the Imperial Antechamber," said Gill. "It's not normally used for Assembly meetings. Whatever they're discussing is most certainly some huge secret," she concluded.

Ebbitt was already speaking to the Codex, giving it commands to make it shrink. Milla turned to her two companions. "Since that's all, let's go now."

Without wasting any more time, the trio ran out of the Cavern, heading towards the highest levels of the Castle, silently hoping that they would get there in time, hoping that the Assembly wouldn't disperse before they got their say, and hoping that the political struggle that had plagued them would finally dissipate.

**A/N: Well, I haven't given up on this story, but frankly, my life is hell now. And probably would be until I go to university. Sometimes I think education is overrated. Even while on holiday, I'm studying/planning camps/running camps/doing cleanup (talking about this is making me depressed…). Anyway, the story isn't going to end anytime soon. There's still another arc. Well, sort of. I think I'll stop rambling here. Please leave a review to cheer me up xD**


	12. Revelation

**A/N: It's nice to know that people are still reading this. I mean, it's been on for 3 years already. The original idea I had changed a lot as I matured. I hope that my writing has improved too.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own The Seventh Tower. Even though I love it to bits still after all these years.**

**Chapter 12 – Revelation**

According to most Icecarls, politics is all talk and no action. After four years of experience in Castle decision-making, Tal understood where they were coming from. And after listening to the Assembly, sans Kazhua, argue for the past two or more hours like they had all the time in the world, he fully agreed with their diagnosis.

After Malen threw them the shocker, the Assembly had done nothing but debate. Tal glanced at the time bands in the Violet Keystone. They were running out of time before Bogus Wedding Ceremony Number 2 was due to begin. And naturally, the presence of the highest-ranking people on both sides – who happened to all be in the room at present – were expected.

From the direction the debate had taken, Tal was pretty sure the final resolution would be to 'wait and see'. _This cannot go on_, he decided, and stood up, catching half the crowd's attention.

"Friends," he began loudly, earning him the attention of the other half. An expectant hush followed. "I believe that we have spent sufficient time thinking about this. Let us put it to a vote now. Those who agree to an alliance with the Icecarls, violet light please. Those who do not are to flash red. We will vote one by one, beginning with me." Tal held up the Keystone. It flashed violet, eliciting murmurs from several.

The Assembly member on his left raised his own Sunstone and it too shone violet, sending hope through Tal. Yet as one by one the Assemblymen cast their votes, Tal's heart began to sink. There were substantially more Reds than Violets, and he could see the Shield Maidens start to tense.

Before they managed to get halfway through, however, the doors flung open and three people burst in, two Icecarls and one Castle-dweller from the look of them. Immediately weapons were drawn and Sunstones raised as all eyes appraised the newcomers. Tal recognised Ebbitt and Gill and lowered his Keystone. The rest, taking their cue from him, allowed the red light to dissipate from their Sunstones.

The third person who had turned to close the doors and mutter something to the Shield Maiden guards at the entrance behind Tal's friends spun around to face everyone. As recognition flickered on faces throughout the room, so did the babble of voices. For it was Milla _–Milla, of all people-_ who had turned to face them.

"War-Chief! What are you doing here?" demanded an affronted Malen, at the same time that Tal exclaimed "Milla!" in surprise. Numerous other voiced also sounded their fear, curiosity and outrage concurrently.

Milla held up a hand and the room quieted. The Shield Maidens, ever vigilant, lowered their weapons a fraction and Tal, who had subconsciously taken a step forward, stopped and sat back down.

The true War-Chief of the Icecarls took a step forward to stand at the fore of her little party. She was keenly aware that the wrong words would send blades of both bone and light into her. She was grateful for Ebbitt's presence then, for despite his meandering ways and slow-seeming habits, he could summon a Violet Shield of Discontinuity faster than any of her would-be assailants could perform Light magic.

She wet her lips and begun. "Yes, I am War-Chief Milla Talon-Hand of the Icecarls, the Living Sword of Asteyr and Wielder of the Talon of Danir," she said, holding up the Talon on her hand for all to see, "and I have just come from the former Freefolk fortress. The Icecarl who you all have thought was I is actually my Shield Maiden. I apologise for having deceived everyone." Here, she couldn't help briefly glancing at Tal, "but at that time it was a necessary precaution. You see, we suspect that Advisor Kazhua is planning to commit a crime against the laws of the Dark World, and we cannot willingly aid him."

Out of the corner of her eye, Milla saw Malen rise. She directed her attention to the Crone. "We were just discussing this before you arrived," informed the older Icecarl. "Do you have any new information to share, apart from what Miria told the Mother Crone during her visit?"

Milla paused, considering the Crone's words, then continued. "If this is the case, then I shall not elaborate, except that now we intend to obtain evidence before we act openly." She turned to face all. "I request that you all follow me now to hear from Kazhua himself. Quietly, please. Shield Maidens, spread out and assist in maintaining silence."

As the ranks of Castle-dwellers and Icecarls filed out, led by Milla, Gill sidled up to Ebbitt and hissed, "Did you see that look of Tal's face back there? Priceless!" She would have laughed, but a sharp glare from a Shield Maiden killed off the intention.

Ebbitt glanced over at his great-nephew, among the front of their procession. "And indeed it is," he mouthed back.

* * *

Somewhere else on the same level, Miria fretted. She paced around the small preparation room like a penned-up Selski. She worried that Milla wouldn't make it in time. She worried that her words would falter in the face of someone more eloquent and experienced than she was. She worried for the sanctity of her neck. And mostly she worried that Gill might not have made it past the watchful eyes of Kazhua's goons.

It wasn't that she was afraid of dying. Like all Icecarls, Miria had no problems with perishing in battle. But here, in the Castle, where her opponent could potentially still tarnish her name after death? Not such an attractive option.

_No time to worry about that now_, she decided. Best to just focus on the Ice ahead of her.

Her newly-formed resolve nearly broke apart when an arrogant knock on the door signaled the beginning of the end. Fighting the urge to nock a non-existent arrow, Miria composed herself and answered the door.

Kazhua's triumphant smile made her reach inside her sleeve before she remembered she didn't have a knife with her at the moment. That thought suddenly brought home how vulnerable she was then, unarmed and facing an enemy who could blow up and blast her into a charred corpse anytime. She quickly changed her defensive motion into an effort to look welcoming. _And happy_, she told herself.

"My dear," Kazhua greeted genially as he passed her on the way in.

His claim over her didn't go unnoticed. Miria inclined her head in reply, her expression a tiny bit colder than it would have been otherwise. As she turned to shut the door, she spoke loudly over her shoulder, "Thank you for entertaining my request on such a short notice. I hope I didn't pull you away from anything important." To a casual observer like Kazhua, it might have seemed to be the beginning of a conversation. In reality, it was more to cover the fact that the Icecarl girl had shut the door, then deliberately pulled it open again, leaving it ajar. She crossed the room to the small desk, where Kazhua was currently lounging, and her heart skipped a beat.

"As a matter of fact, yes, you have. However, your messenger said that it was of utmost importance…" Here the Advisor shrugged, then continued, not noticing the distress that was barely-contained under the girl's professional facade. "So here I am. Feel free to speak your mind."

Miria's mouth felt dry. If he looked up… No, she could not, must not draw attention to the ceiling. If only she'd pulled the chair further away! Deliberately looking straight at Kazhua, she said, "The preparations should be done by now. Your people are very efficient." That much she would gladly admit.

"Soon to be yours too," Kazhua reminded. He looked her over once. "I see they have satisfactorily repaired your dress."

Miria was wearing the same dress she wore when the Guards found her on the road, albeit repaired and polished so much that it looked new. And for all she knew, it could well be. _This man has terrible taste_, she had thought to herself when her helpers put it over her head. She held up her arms, heavy with the weight of Sunstones. "Yes-" she began.

Kazhua cut her off. "Why don't you brighten the room?" The Sunstone on his finger shone in readiness, waiting for the command to emit beams that would spark the ceiling's stones into brilliance. He raised his hand.

_No!_ thought Miria. She blurted hastily, "No, don't. I like the room dim." The lame excuse slipped past her lips. Fumbling around for justification, she added, "It reminds me of the Ice."

Kazhua, who had raised his eyebrows at her initial outburst, looked appeased and lowered his hand. He glanced at the time bands in it as he did. "I see. Why don't we talk after the ceremony? We only have an hour left." He made as if to stand up.

"We can talk now," insisted Miria coolly. Suddenly she felt as though she was back on the Ice, knowing that the Merwin was out there searching for her, hunting her just as she hunted it.

"Alright," conceded Kazhua, sitting back down. His brow furrowed. "I didn't see any Guards when I came in. Where are they?" he asked abruptly.

"I sent them to patrol the level. With this many dignitaries attending, it's best to be safe than sorry," Miria shot back. Her anxiety had faded; she was in full hunting mode now, and the familiar need to be confident and unwavering filled her. With it came the knowledge that she could bring down her prey. Automatically, her back straightened.

Kazhua sensed the subtle changed in her and became defensive. "I see. I will trust your judgement on this. And so?" he challenged. "What was it that you have to say that is so important it couldn't wait?"

Miria dropped her gaze and started pacing again. She couldn't let it drag any longer. If Milla wasn't there, well, so be it. "Why don't you be honest with me? We both know the reason you're pushing so hard for this is because you want control over what the Icecarls, especially our fighting forces, so. You want the power that being their leader would bring, isn't that right?"

Silence and a frozen stare were the only replies she got. Miria, unwilling and unable to stop now, went on. "That's why you're going for this farce. But you underestimate us. No Icecarl would _ever_," she stressed the word, "obey you."

Her last sentence must have struck a chord in Kazhua, for he leapt up with a venomous glare. "And how do you know that when your life is in my hands, you will not issue the commands that I wish? How do you know that your precious Icecarls won't do their best to keep you alive?" He was practically spitting the words at her now.

Time to reveal that she was only a mirror, and not the real thing. Miria forced herself to laugh maniacally, stopping in her tracks and bending over a chair for support. Her reaction must have surely surprised Kazhua. He stopped short and stared at her in suspicion. Miria kept laughing. It was surprisingly easy to continue once she has started.

The walls on the dimly-lit room rang with her laughter even as she replied in words. "No one will bat an eye even if I died," she gasped out, and momentarily felt a twinge of sadness as she said that, thinking about the parents who had left her to die out in the cold long ago. She quickly suppressed it. "You've been tricked, you fool," she spat at him, all laughter gone now. "The War-Chief has returned to the Ice."

Kazhua heard the ring of truth in her words somewhere, and his face flushed red with anger as he advanced on the Icecarl girl again. "Then it wouldn't matter if I kill you now, would it? Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Then I'll tell the Assembly that your people betrayed us, sending a fake, thinking us fools. Yes, I shall do just that." His Sunstone flashed once again, getting ready to unleash a Red Ray of Destruction.

Miria had straightened up, letting go of the chair. She met Kazhua's rage-filled gaze unflinchingly. "Go ahead and kill me, you scum. But I just want to know one thing before you do. Why are you doing all this?"

A mad smile appeared on the Advisor's face, sending a chill through Miria. Still advancing slowly, he replied. "Why, you ask? To bring back the former, glorious order, of course. To bring back the days of Spiritshadows!" He raised his Sunstone. "Well now, farewell, pest!" A Red Ray of Destruction shot out of the Sunstone, straight at Miria's head!

Miria didn't want to show any fear of death, but she couldn't help tensing and closing her eyes as the Ray came. _This is it_, she thought. There was a loud bang and when she next opened her eyes, everything around her was awash with violet. She blinked twice more and the Violet Shield of Discontinuity faded, allowing her to see the source of the noise.

Three Imperial Guards and Shield Maidens had burst in through the door and were currently disarming Kazhua and pinning him down. The rest, watching anxiously through the door, stayed put so as to not get in the way. Meanwhile, the shield had come from the ceiling, where Milla and Ebbitt were coming down. Milla leapt from the hatch and tossed a bow and quiver to Miria, who quickly nocked and arrow and aimed it at the no-longer tussling Advisor.

The Emperor was addressing the rest of the Assembly through the open door, effectively preventing the rest of the politicians from entering if they got too curious. Ebbitt lowered himself from the hatch after Milla and hurried over. "Well, at least that's over," he huffed. From the floor, being sat on by a Guard, Kazhua glared at them with hate-filled eyes.

The War-Chief turned and asked, "Are you alright?" At first, Miria didn't realise that the question was directed at her, but there was no answer from Ebbitt. She quickly nodded, but not before Milla noticed the pause.

"How's the wound I gave you?" Milla placed a hand on the other girl's arm, forcing the bow down. Reluctantly, Miria relaxed the tension in the string.

"It's healed," she replied curtly. Now that everything was over, all she wanted to do was return to the Ruin Ship and disappear among the ranks of Shield Maidens. Try to get assigned to a hand. Look after Wreska and feed them bits of Selski meat. In short, return to her old life and forget everything she learned about herself. Because the alternative would be too hard to bear.

Because Icecarls have a strong sense of justice. Because a debt must be paid back in full. And the same went for revenge.

Miria owed a debt to the Shield Mother Arla. But she could no longer repay it. Not unless she intended to avenge her. And the young Shield Maiden could never bring herself to do it.

She could never bring herself to slay Milla.

By then Ebbitt had reached them, and Miria clapped her fists to thank him for saving her life, pretending not to notice Milla's dissatisfaction with her answer. The old man directed their attention to the door, where a few of the bolder politicians had ventured into the dim room, despite Tal's efforts. The rest had already begun debating Kazhua's fate, and nothing the Emperor said seemed to make them understand that this was a very bad time to be blocking the passageway.

Milla sighed. "Worse than Wrack hounds fighting over a piece of scrap. Come, we better get Kazhua put away before they get too engrossed in arguing to get out of our way." She started walking over to where the Guards and Shield Maidens still ringed their captive, trusting the old man and the girl to follow.

Miria followed a few steps before realising that Ebbitt was gone. She turned her head around, seeking him out before he could get into trouble. That motion made her mildly uncomfortable, and for a moment she couldn't put her finger on it. Then she realized that it was the missing weight of her hair that made her uneasy. It annoyed her somewhat; it was yet another reminder that she had changed and it wouldn't be so easy to go back to where she was before.

Ebbitt had wandered off to peer at the contents of the desk drawer, so Miria let him be and picked up her pace again, until she was right behind the War-Chief. She lifted her bow by an inch as she approached, out of habit.

They were just a stretch away when they suddenly heard a cry of pain. Instinctively, Miria drew back the string on her bow, but a sudden flash of bright light blinded her amidst other cries of shock. Forcing her eyes open, she found herself in near-darkness. In the cacophony of voices, from her left she heard Ebbitt gasp and the harsh sound of a body hitting the floor. Blindly, she turned her arrow in his direction but dared not loose it for fear that she hit him.

Then the lights came back on and she could see again. Miria blinked away the last traces of visions and sprinted over the Ebbitt, lying on the floor. She was closely followed by Milla. Together they helped the old man sit up, with Miria supporting his back.

"Ebbitt, where are you hurt?" Milla demanded, getting ready to cast a Blue Ray of Healing. Without looking, she instinctively knew that Kazhua had surely gone, but where – and how – she did not know. The whole thing couldn't have taken more than a few seconds. Right now she was more concerned with Ebbitt.

Ebbitt, whose eyes were frantic, whose fingers were scrabbling across his chest, who was gasping like a Slepenish out of water. Milla was almost sure that he was choking and was about to slap him on the back, welcome or not, when he rediscovered his voice. It was so faint, the two Icecarls had to lean in to hear what he was saying. And what they heard did not make them feel any better.

"The Codex," he gasped. "He took the Codex."

* * *

Elsewhere in the Castle, a door flung open and a figure stepped through. In darkness, the figure raised his hand and a small light bloomed on his finger, revealing more shadows than any man would naturally possess in the presence of a single light. Shadows that slunk and slithered even when the light that cast them did not move.

The man dismissed the Spiritshadows mastered by his underlings easily. They left through the walls, leaving only his natural shadow that reflected his stocky build. With his free hand, the man threw something resembling liquid crystal onto the ground. It expanded and solidified until it was about the size and shape of the door it has just passed through.

The man smiled a humourless smile. "Codex," he snarled quietly, and any who heard it would surely be surprised, for the voice was that of Kazhua's. But there was none, and the man continued, anger making his voice tremble. "Tell me, who is that Dark-accursed girl who keeps ruining my plans?" His voice rose into a frustrated scream at the end, and the walls reverberated with the sound.

Words appeared on the silvery surface of the Codex, a simple name. 'Kazhua' read the name and hissed impatiently, "And what weakness can I use to keep her out of my way?"

More words appeared on the Codex, more than there was the last time. The smile grew wider, and harder, carrying within it the promise of vengeance. "Well now," he whispered, more calmly than before, "what do we have here?"

**A/N: Cue the dramatic music xD I tried to write this really quickly, but well, you know how even though you think you're fast, time just flies faster? That kind of happened, and before I knew it, more than a month went past. I actually added a new twist this time round, because I realised there was a plot hole somewhere. See if you can figure it out. The rest, essentially, is the same as what I thought of when I was 14. The new idea is probably more mature. Or less. I haven't exactly been progressing (regression may be entirely possible). As usual, it would help my morale a lot if you reviewed, even if it's just a few words, as long as I know how you find it.**


	13. Caught

**A/N: I AM FREE! YESSSS! In case you're wondering whether I've gone insane or not, the answer is yes, I've gone quite mad. After exams followed by A-level Project Work (the bane of 17-year-olds in Singapore), I'm probably going to be sent to the Institute of Mental Health.**

**On a more serious and pertinent note, I realise that I have been slacking off this chapter because of one very huge problem. The plot that I thought up when I was 14 really, really pales in comparison with the twists I added when I'm 17. And I would really love to get rid of it, but that leaves the story nowhere. Well, it's going to be pretty obvious in any case, to the point of embarrassment, so I guess I should be prepared to take flames.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own The Seventh Tower. It's too awesome for me to come up with on my own.**

**Chapter 13 – Caught**

Padding silently along the hallways of the lowest level of the Castle, Milla Talon-Hand shot a surreptitious glance at her companion. Officially, they were both on a search mission for the escaped criminal Kazhua, but then again, official search teams had at least 5 members consisting of a balanced mix of Shield Maidens and Imperial Guards. Milla plus one Shield Maiden would hardly constitute as a search team since they probably weren't carrying enough firepower to actually apprehend Kazhua on their own.

In reality, Milla really just wanted to talk to Miria, who had become uncharacteristically withdrawn and quiet after the Kazhua's flight (which no one managed to figure out how it was managed, anyway). She gave half-answers wherever she could get away with it and slipped out of the room whenever she saw Milla enter. Even to the most oblivious, it was clear that Miria was avoiding anyone who could carry a proper conversation with her, because Ebbitt had complained several times that she hadn't visited him while he was recovering. Milla had unfortunately been the target of his nagging every time she went to see him.

When a couple of weeks had passed, by Castle time, and Miria hadn't gotten over what was bugging her, the War-Chief decided to put her foot down. Dragging Miria away from her assigned search team on the grounds of "needing a partner to do reconnaissance work", she finally managed to corner her. Which was why they were both skulking around the lowest levels with an uneasy silence between them.

"Are you alright?" Milla asked for the fourth time since setting out.

The other Icecarl barely took her eyes off their surroundings as she quietly replied, "I'm fine."

The answer was pretty standard, since that was what Milla got the last three times she asked the question, with the exact same expression and intonation. She wanted to be irritated by the treatment she was getting, but given that they were trying to be as quiet as possible, she restrained herself from giving a snappy retort, instead settling for a small sigh. Not that she was expecting that they'd find anything, because search teams had covered the area about ten times over the last week and they hadn't found anything either, so their silence was pretty much a pointless jab at pretending that they were at work.

Out of the corner of her eye, Milla saw a flicker of movement and whirled about, half-raising her hands into a defensive position. But it was just Miria raising her face to look at the far wall. Milla changed the movement to one that looked like she was turning to face Miria, who had lifted a hand to point at said wall. "Wasn't that supposed to be a dead end?"

Milla turned to look at where the finger was pointing. What she thought was a solid wall actually wasn't. A wall covered half the corridor, and beyond that was a dim-lit hallway. Even as she watched a shadow flicked out of the opening and back in. She started. "Did you see that?"

"Yes." The Shield Maiden stared at the opening, and started towards it, intent on the shadow.

Milla came to a decision. "Miria, go back and report what you have found. And hurry." She went into action without waiting to see if her order was being followed. Heading towards the opening after the shadow, she quickly left the other Icecarl behind, still standing where they stopped.

"But-" The protest died behind Milla as she slipped through the opening easily. If she had thought about it, the Shield Maiden had spoken to her of her own volition in weeks, and it would have been a good opportunity to start being friends again. But the irritation, coupled with the urgency of seeing the shadow, wouldn't let Milla turn back. She headed down the hallway unhesitatingly, noting that the dim lighting came from small Sunstones set into the walls every ten stretches or so. A far cry from the hallway that she had been in previously.

Still moving silently, she followed the narrow hallway, or tunnel, rather, as it turned and snaked. Obviously the creator of this place wasn't very open to the idea of visitors, since by her Icecarl reckoning, she hadn't gone very deep in, but the twists and turns had made her venture seem much longer. _It must have taken a great deal of time to carve out the tunnel_, she thought. The walls were made of stone, and were perfectly smooth, suggesting that light had been the tool to cut it. The ceiling was low, but that made sense, since it would greatly reduce the amount of stone that was required to be transported out. _Saves time and effort, given how much stone they would have needed to dispose of_. She couldn't sense any shadows nor humans, and that made her uneasy. Now she was sure she had found Kazhua's hideout.

A small scuffling sound, one emanating from a badly-placed step, from behind her alerted her to the presence of a pursuer. Milla quickly rounded the next turn and pressed herself against the inner wall, her hand slipping inside her furs and closing around the hilt of her golden knife. _Not a shadow_, she decided. Shadows didn't make noise as they moved. _Unless they were as clumsy as Adras._

Her heart beating faster in anticipation, she counted her breaths as she waited. Judging from the sound, whoever it was would be rounding the corner around… Now!

Knife in hand, Milla threw herself forward as a figure turned the corner. Her free hand reached up to cover her opponent's mouth, to silence him even as the hand holding the knife sought to reach his throat. But her opponent was prepared, and even as she attacked, she felt his fingers close around her knife hand.

"Ouch, don't! It's me, Miria!" A hiss came out from somewhere in front of her face. Milla stopped and lowered her knife. Slightly.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded. "You were supposed to report back!"

"And let you get killed walking in here on your own? Not a chance!" Miria hissed back, releasing Milla's hand and stepping back.

"This is insubordination!" Milla was torn. On one hand, she was outraged and worried about how they would end up because _someone_ deliberately chose to disobey her orders. On the other hand, she was sort of glad that Miria was sounding more like herself now. She tucked her knife back into her sleeve.

"If you want to drag me before the Crones for this charge, you should have done so long ago. I'm pretty sure that kidnapping, holding and impersonating you against your will can be counted along with it."

Maybe not so after all. The sarcasm was still there. Milla gave in and continued on, saying, "Well, too late for anything now. Come along. And be quiet." Secretly, she felt slightly better with company, but she wasn't ever going to admit it.

She felt, rather than heard, Miria take a step forward, and at that moment she had the awful feeling that something was off, that something would happen. The next moment, the entire tunnel was flooded with white light. Both Icecarls immediately winced and raised their arms to shield their eyes.

Instantly realising that it was a mistake to leave them vulnerable, Milla forced her arm away from her eyes, only to see a decidedly unpleasant sight. She raised both hands, the Talons flaring into life as they sensed the threat.

Shadows swarmed the tunnel ahead of them, the shapes vivid in the harsh light that filled the place. Milla could distinctly make out several Aenirans that she would rather not see ever again, including a Nanuch and three Dretches.

And in the centre of the tunnel, not 50 stretches away from them, was a man. A human man, not a shadow, holding a Sunstone from which the white light originated.

Milla felt her partner shift behind her so that their backs were against each other, and knew from the subtle tension that more shadows had come from behind as well. She felt, rather than saw, Miria draw her Merwin horn sword and slip into a defensive crouch. She heard a soft hiss as Miria sized up the shadows and figured out that their chances weren't pretty.

In front of her, the man laughed, one that Milla knew well. Amidst all the shadows, he didn't strike her as an impressive figure, probably about thirty circlings old, and neither tall nor strong, yet the sound that echoed around the narrow tunnel made Milla feel as cold as she did out on the Ice.

Because even though that man was clearly not Kazhua in appearance, he sounded every bit like the advisor-turned-traitor.

"Welcome to my domain, Ice savages," he called out, his laughter still echoing around them. "Did you have a pleasant trip?"

Milla said nothing, but her Talons grew longer still and the tips hinted at the light whip's readiness to cut up shadows. Her eyes constantly darted around, sizing up their opponents, but her mind was still fixated on "Kazhua". Behind her, Miria hissed again as she, too, caught on. The two of them didn't take their eyes off the shadows nonetheless, for it would be fatal.

"What, no greeting for me?" mocked the man, and the shadows swirled, almost as if in appreciation of his humour. "Oh dear, I forgot that I haven't introduced myself. My name is Rhin. Or perhaps you would recognise me better like this?"

Milla's eyes flickered to him for a moment, and the slight shift at her back told her that for the moment, neither of them were watching the shadows, instead transfixed by the mystery of the man in front of her.

And they weren't disappointed. The Sunstone the man held ran through several colours, causing the shadows to ripple, before settling back to white. The only change was that before them, the man they saw was indeed Kazhua.

"A illusion," whispered Milla, as much for herself as for the Shield Maiden beside her. Of course. Tal had once told her about encountering a Chosen who used it in Aenir, who had called himself Hazror. The weaver of the illusion had to be a very strong Light Mage, as well as possess an equally strong Sunstone.

The lack of reaction from Miria made Milla suspect that she didn't quite understand what an light illusion was, nor care to understand except that it was Light magic which she had no interest in. But it was clear to even her that he had to have concealed Sunstones on him to help maintain the illusion.

"So that's how he escaped the other time!" Miria blurted, not caring to keep her voice down anymore. "He had more Sunstones on him."

"Bingo, little pest," replied the man – Rhin - mockingly, clearly confident that the Icecarls would not be going anywhere. "After I blew out all the Sunstones in the ceiling, it wasn't difficult to get out. You even left me the way."

It all became clear to Milla. "The water capillary. You left by it. Of course, that would have made perfect sense. Since you were 'Kazhua', no one would have thought you could leave by it."

"My, my, getting smart now are we? Well, there would be no such luck for you two. I do need the two of you to be quiet and out of the way while I go deal with the Emperor, don't I?" Here Rhin looked right at Milla. "Or rather, I only need one of you. The other one is rather redundant for anything except vengeance."

Milla gritted her teeth. "Keep the shadows off me," she said to Miria, lips barely moving. "We'll take him out first." Like any trained warrior, Miria didn't twitch as she took in the order.

"And since you're so outnumbered as it is, it won't be much trou-," he was cut off as Milla shouted a war cry and launched forward at him, the Talons slicing through the shadows that thronged around him. At the same time, Miria dropped her sword and reached for her bow, her other hand latching onto an arrow, its tip treated with luminous moss.

Surprisingly, Kazhua/Rhin dropped the illusion and met her assault with one of his own. The shadows fell back to allow their master to spar freely. Milla was forced back half a stretch, but she was ready to attack again. The whip of light from her right Talon reached to wrap itself around Rhin's neck even as the whip from the left curled around his feet.

Rhin successfully avoided both attacks, even avoiding injury caused by the low ceiling. Clearly, he had been well-trained in combat, unlike his brother Sushin. But Sushin was Kazhua's brother…

"What did you do with the real Kazhua?" demanded Milla as she drew back to avoid the Red Ray of Destruction. The whips of light flung themselves forward again with a slight movement of her hand, extending further to reach their quarry.

The man sent out an Indigo shield with a quick flick of his wrist, deflecting the Talon's assault. He feigned a look of surprise, but his tone had not lost the mocking edge to it. "Oh, he's dead of course. It's no loss. He never was a useful man to begin with. Though he should be touched that you actually care, considering how you've been to your own sister." His tone darkened considerably. Quickly, he changed his Sunstone's light to Yellow, sending a stream of Yellow darts at Milla's legs.

* * *

The changes in lighting made it hard for Miria to shoot accurately, but she managed somehow. She was running out of arrows though. Every one she sent pinned the shadow to the wall or ground, but they eventually wormed out of it. And with arrows alone, she just wasn't able to damage their forms badly enough to send them back to Aenir.

_They were definitely bound shadows_, she decided as she pinned yet another shadow to the wall. They were very similar to those she fought four circling past, and to compel them to obey Rhin, they had to be bound. _Dark-accursed human masters were smart in hiding away_, she thought. Her right hand automatically reached back for another arrow, only to find her quiver empty. She swore again and reached for the Merwin horn sword still faintly glowing by her feet.

_Milla'd better hurry_, she thought. _There's no way I can keep them off for long now._

* * *

Milla stumbled back, narrowly missing the row of darts. They embedded themselves into the ground at her feet before fading. If Milla had paid attention, she might have noticed that the spell was oddly artistic, in the way the darts left their existence. But she didn't, because she was too focused on the spell-caster in front of her.

"What?" she asked, for once not sounding as sure of herself as she had been. What was he talking about?

Rhin didn't hesitate to press his advantage, and Red Rays sprang out of his Sunstone once more. "Oh, of course, silly me, you couldn't have known, could you?" Harsh laughter burst out of him, even as he sent Red Rays that blew chunks out of the tunnel walls. His voice grew louder still, reverberating around the mini-cavern. "You didn't know, did you? How you took the strength from your sister when the two of you were in your mother's body, and made it so that your sister was born weak."

Milla could hardly believe her ears. So Kazh – no, Rhin - wasn't just mad, he was creative too. The whip of light flicked around her to deflect a Red Ray, while the other one flicked forward to attack.

"And you Ice savages don't like weaklings, apparently. Your father tried to kill your sister, after she was born, did you know that?" Rhin easily summoned an Indigo Shield once more, cackling in a way that made Milla's ears hurt. "A pity that someone picked her up. Otherwise she wouldn't have grown up to be such a pest."

Something clicked in Milla's mind then, but she stubbornly pushed it away, refusing to dwell on it until later. Instead, she shot back at him, pressing forward with her attack. "I don't want to hear that from someone who kills 'useless people'."

Rhin smiled patronizingly and shifted the Shield to cover himself from the Talons. He continued on. "Well, this is all for the good of the Chosen." His eyes seemed to focus on something beyond her. "Now, do we have to continue this ridiculous farce, or will you come along quietly?"

Ridiculous farce? Milla could have laughed at the irony, but the notion of that died when the shadows dragged a limp body into her field of vision. On second thought, maybe not limp. Shadowy strips bound Miria's eyes and mouth, hands and feet. She writhed, but she had clearly lost, for the shadows bound her so tightly that she could hardly move.

Milla looked up. "Well?" Rhin pressed.

"Dark take you all," she spat, and the Talons withdrew.

* * *

They were taken to a room branching off the main tunnel. Milla was carried there bound by Spiritshadows, her Talons, knives and Sunstone taken from her. Once there, ropes replaced the Spiritshadows, and the two Icecarls were unceremoniously tossed to the back of the room.

Milla managed to right herself in time to see Rhin activate a spell that created a thin film of Violet that went all the way from floor to ceiling, separating them from the door. She noted the row of Sunstones in the ceiling and how they complemented each other in weaving the spell. Tearing her eyes away from the ceiling, she also noted that this was the first time she was seeing the human masters, a few of them at least, of the Spiritshadows. Two Chosen (she called them that for she couldn't find a better word) were standing at the door.

"If I were you, I wouldn't try anything," Rhin said without a trace of humour. He tossed one of Miria's bone arrows at the fragile-looking Violet veil. There was a bright flash of light that forced Milla to lid her eyes. When she next opened them, there was nothing left of the arrow.

Rhin tossed the rest of the arrows, which the Spiritshadows have brought back, into a corner along with the rest of their confiscated weapons. Milla knew that it was his show of confidence, and it smarted. He turned to leave, gesturing to the humans to follow.

"What do you intend to do?" Milla spoke just as he was about to exit the room. She glanced behind her once. Miria was facing the wall, unmoving, unspeaking, and seemingly in no condition to act.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing much. Just going to bargain for the Violet Keystone." A trace of his mad smile had begun to appear on Rhin's face. "And so that you don't get any ideas, they," he pointed at the two Chosen, "will be staying here to look after you. Any questions?"

Milla remained silent. Not the Keystone. _Not Tal._

Rhin smirked. "I thought so. See you later." He turned and left with his Spiritshadow entourage. Behind him, the two Chosen left, shutting the door behind them. It slammed shut with a very final-sounding bang, and Milla heard the unmistakable sound of a latch securing the door.

**A/N: Ok, I confess that near the end I was multi-tasking as I wrote this. Was watching Sound Horizon's live performances (Epic, I tell you!).**

**How long has it been since my last update? Er… Actually, please don't answer this question.**

**On a serious note again, I really, really hate how my 14-year-old ideas pale in comparison with my 17-year-old's. Honestly, at one point I was thinking of dropping this story, but then it feels like such a waste. If it's any consolation (to me as well), I do have another idea for The Seventh Tower, tentatively titled Spirit of Aenir (also considering Child of Aenir, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it). Right now it seems a lot less shallow compared to this one, it focuses a lot more on character development and relations rather than action and all that. I'm putting it at around 10 chapters or so.**

**Won't ask for a review this time round (because I doubt I'll even have readers left after this xD). With any luck, this will be completed by next year. Yeah... Or maybe sooner. I only have about 2 or 3 chapters left.**


	14. Side by side

**A/N: So I do have good intentions when I start writing, cuz this isn't that long after the last update (by my standards). Thankfully, we're reaching the end soon. Probably. Yeah, probably… We might see an end to this before 365 days go by.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the Seventh Tower. Which you would know if you've been reading the last 13 chapters.**

**Chapter 14 – Side-by-side**

The silence stretched in the cold dungeon. The only illumination came from the Violet veil that cut them off from their weapons and the door. Milla refused to lean back, to lean her weight on the back of her sister, even though her spine ached from sitting so upright.

Her _sister_! By the Crones, she had a sister! Milla didn't believe in the great Reckoner, but if she did, she would have sworn that whoever moved the pieces had to be a spiteful person.

Milla didn't want to be the first to break the silence either, but the slouch in the other girl's posture told her that if she didn't, then they could wither in silence for all eternity.

"Did you know about it?" The sound that came out from Milla's mouth surprised even her. It was harsher than she had intended. Was that why, ever since Rhin's escape – ever since she came back from the Ruin Ship, even – Miria had conspicuously avoided her?

There was no reply, and Milla's patience was running thin. "Did. You. Know. About. It," she repeated fiercely.

Silence reigned for a moment, before a reluctant "No" was replied. "Not everything," she added after a pause. It didn't occur to either Icecarl that Rhin might be lying, but the fact that he had the Codex and all the evidence before them pointed otherwise. And to begin with, neither of them had much faith in his story-telling skills.

"What _did_ you know?" Milla demanded. A part of her mind told her that she was pushing too far, pushing too much, but Milla couldn't stop herself. Not when she felt like she'd been betrayed.

A waterfall of words burst out of Miria. "I knew from the Mother Crone that I was abandoned near the Ruin Ship. I knew that my parents were from elsewhere. I knew that a Shield Mother saved me when she was still a Shield Maiden. I knew that you," here the words came out strangled and tear-laden, "slew her." Done with her outburst, the Icecarl uncharacteristically, finally, broke down and subsided into silent sobbing.

Milla felt as though the room had cooled to the temperature of the Ice, along with her temper. "Arla," she whispered.

It was not a question, but Milla heard the rustle of hair and furs as her companion nodded vigorously. Then – Milla assumed – she finally gave up on trying to suppress her self-pity and cried openly, making Milla feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Milla shifted nervously and relaxed her posture, allowing herself to lean on Miria's back. She sighed once and kept quiet as she allowed her sister to cry, watching their shadows dance on the wall in the flickering light. Interpersonal conversations had never been her forte, but given the situation that they were in… _I guess I don't have a choice._

Finally the sobs quieted, the body at Milla's back calming and no longer shuddering. Milla considered her words carefully, but what came out was something completely different from what she had planned. "Do you hate me?"

* * *

_Do you hate me?_

Miria was shocked to hear it so plainly, but it was the Icecarl way after all, and why should she be so surprised when she knew her people so well? Still, the question cleared a path through her whirlwind of emotion, an exceedingly clear one.

Her reply burst from her readily. "No!" Even though her voice was weak and shaky from crying, she could hear how aghast she was; and under that, her own conviction. "No, I don't," she repeated more calmly, starting a Rovkir breathing exercise to steady her voice.

"Then are you going to avenge Arla?" The War-Chief was unbelievably calm discussing her own death, and it shook Miria to the core. She bit her lip and continued her breathing exercise as she pondered her answer.

"No," she said shortly. She knew all along that she was too soft to slay anyone she didn't see as an enemy or prey, and with Milla as her opponent, she would definitely be going the same way that Arla did. But that wasn't the main point. She felt compelled to add, "And it's not because I think I won't be able to outfight you." She was glad that the Rovkir exercise worked, she sounded much more secure. Not like she was insecure to begin with, she told herself.

"Why?" asked Milla again. Miria couldn't see the War-Chief's face, but she was sure that it, like her back, had stiffened into the mask that she saw her always wearing in front of the Assembly. The one that Miria tried hard to imitate when she engaged in a war of words with Kazhua.

"Why do you care?" Miria shot back. She didn't particularly want to think about it, and it irritated her to know that she wanted to avoid it. The past few sleeps in the Castle had been particularly horrible because she began to see, but refused to accept, that she wasn't really herself anymore. Annoyance laced her voice and built a wall around her emotions. "Do you want to die that badly?"

"I am not afraid of death," said Milla evasively, and though Miria couldn't see, not with the dark and the angle they were positioned, she swore that she could hear in her voice that Milla was smiling, the small quirk that she rarely allowed herself, the one that she only saw out on the Ice. "Now answer my question."

In return, Miria scowled, though that went unnoticed. Far too many years of training made her automatically want to obey Milla's order, even if it unnerved her. She thought about how she had came to be, about how she enjoyed Milla's company as a friend, about the Mother Crone, about her parents, and about Arla. The more she thought about it, the more her wall crumbled, until she was once again swamped in self-pity and confusion.

_Do not cry,_ she ordered herself. _Whatever you do, Miria Light-Arrow, do not cry! You're weak enough as it is!_ Her breathing, which had become ragged once more, slowed down. She took a deep breath to steady herself and continued.

"I'm too weak and soft to kill anybody, much less the War-Chief," she said, trying to sound as matter-of-fact as she could and hoping that the self-pity didn't show through her voice. "And it's not as though my life is that important to justify getting rid of the hero of the Icecarls. It was supposed to be snuffed out long ago because I wasn't strong enough-" her voice grew acidic, then cracked, and finally became inaudible. _Oh, darkness_, she swore inwardly. She really was going to cry. She held her head up, unwilling to let the tears spill out, though it was a futile attempt.

"You aren't weak," Milla's voice came from somewhere behind her, sounding oddly curious. "What gives you the idea that just because our parents tried to toss you, you'd grow up weak?"

Miria gave a self-deprecating laugh through the fountain of tears, and some part of her mind that was still rational noted that she was sliding towards hysteria, and rapidly at that. "Isn't the cause and effect kind of switched around here?" she said, voice thick with tears. "Oh, it doesn't matter, it doesn't change the fact that I'm unwanted-"

Milla cut her off. "You're not unwanted. There are plenty of people who want you around." Her voice, in contrast, was sharp-edged, like a bone knife. "I, for one. And Ebbitt, for another. And I'm sure the Mother Crone must have wanted you around too, or we wouldn't be here talking. Let's not count the Shield Maidens you train with at the Ruin Ship."

Miria snorted through her tears. Milla ignored it. "So I don't believe that you're too weak and soft, as you put it, to kill. Try again."

Miria sniffed. The War-Chief was smart. _The Emperor chose well_, she thought inanely, and mentally giggled at the thought of it. The rational part of her mind noted again that her hysteria was getting out of hand, and maybe they should try calming down a bit. She coughed once to buy some time. _This is going to make me look stupider than I already am_, she told herself. She kept her puffy, stinging eyes on her shadow, outlined in Violet, as she composed her answer.

"Because…," she muttered as more tears spilled out, "Because I'd rather forgive than slay you." She sniffed once more as it became harder to breath. "I don't think it's worth it, even if you aren't my sister." The last few words bordered on inaudibility, and Miria hoped that her _sister_ didn't catch her bout of sentimentality.

But Milla, trained as she was, did hear. And she did something that surprised Miria. She entwined her fingers with Miria's, bound behind their backs. "Thank you, sister," she breathed, and tilted her head back so that they touched.

* * *

Miria would have wanted to stay that way for a while, but when she finally fell silent once more, the twitch in Milla's fingers reminded her of the situation that they were in… and what they had to do. Feeling rather wistful but understanding Milla's slight impatience anyway, she disentangled her fingers from Milla's and began untying the ropes that bound her wrists together. Given that the Icecarls often had to work in the dark, she successfully undid the knots without looking.

Milla took a moment to let the rope fall from her wrists before twisting around to work on Miria's bonds. Likewise, she worked quickly and silently, and before long both girls were freeing their ankles and rising to their feet.

Milla paced along the length of their prison silently, right next to the veil of light. She estimated it to be about 5 stretches wide and maybe another 2 stretches longer in length. Her eyes followed the line of Sunstones set in the ceiling, set about a hand's width from each other. Miria followed a few paces from her and tracked her gaze to the Sunstones. She moved closer and whispered in Milla's ear.

"If we can reflect the light back at an angle, do you think that we can destroy the Sunstones without bringing the ceiling down on us?"

Milla considered the possibility, cocking her head at an angle as though it the new perspective would reveal something she overlooked. If the angle was gentle enough, probably so. But they would need a mirror for this, and her mirror shield was sitting in the corner along with all their other weapons on the other side of the curtain, which was to say, out of reach.

"Yes, but we don't have a mirror-shield," replied the War-Chief. It was a good idea though.

The War-Chief turned to pace in the other direction, only to meet with a small grin. In the pale Violet light, it looked ghastly below puffy eyes and wet cheeks, but Milla was glad to see a trace of humour, albeit wry and insane at the same time.

"What?" she demanded in a whisper. The smile unnerved her more than she would admit.

Miria reached a hand into the neck of her furs and fiddled around at her shoulder. Milla heard the muffled sounds of hide straps coming apart as she did. She repeated the motion at her other shoulder and all of a sudden something thin and rounded came sliding out from under Miria's inner furs from her back. She swept her hands down to catch it before it hit the ground. She straightened and held it out. Milla took it. It was one half of a shell. The kind that when polished, functioned as mirror shields. She angled it to catch the light and saw the gleam that confirmed her suspicions.

Milla was pleasantly surprised. Of course, it was an excellent strategy. Hiding the mirror shield _under_ her furs would lull her opponent into complacency, and when Light struck her back, it would just be reflected in the direction of the spellcaster. It was just like Miria to come up with such a trick. She was just about to express her appreciation for it when she heard vague curses from outside. Immediately the words died in her throat as she realised that sound carried rather clearly in this place.

Milla looked up from the mirror shield. The smile was gone from Miria's face as she waited for the other's approval. They really were alike, Milla realised. When they got out, she would be sure to take a nice long hunting trip with her out on the Ice.

Quickly the Icecarls worked out a plan. One problem that they ran into was that the angle had to be as gentle as possible in order to avoid the ceiling burying them, but in this confined area, there was an even chance that the ceiling would come down on them anyway if they tried.

"We'll just have to take the chance," said Milla finally. She didn't like dying of suffocation any more than the next Icecarl, but since if they failed, they were all likely to die anyway, she might as well choose the manner and time of her death.

Miria nodded in agreement. She gave the good-hunting sign and spun on her heel to head to the far side of their little cell, leaving Milla on the other end – with the mirror shield.

Their plan was simple. Milla would stand at one end, as close to the wall as possible, and slide the mirror shield into the Violet curtain at an angle, and as high as possible. The Violet light would then be reflected to the ceiling above Miria's head, hopefully destroying the Sunstones or at least the rock that held them in place. With part of the spell disrupted, Miria would then rush through to their unguarded weapons and hold off the guards, who were certain to come running once they heard the noise, while Milla made her way past the veil and recovered the Talons. The Talons, being small, would cost Milla more time to prepare herself against attack.

Miria didn't particularly want to think about failure. Like all Icecarls, she had a touch of claustrophobia, but she fully understood that she wouldn't have time to suffocate to death if the ceiling fell down on her. She'd be the first to die if their plan failed. However, she saw no point in mentioning this to Milla. Milla would just make them switch places. Which Miria didn't ever want to go through again.

Miria reached the far side and took several steps away from the Violet curtain. She turned to face Milla and signalled for her to go ahead.

Milla straightened and raised the mirror shield just above her head. Bracing it with both hands, slanting it in Miria's direction, she drove it into the light.

The effect was instantaneous. There was a loud crack and the sound of falling rock dominated. Miria didn't hesitate as she covered her head with one arm threw herself into the thick of it, climbing over rubble and ignoring the bits of rock that pelted her back. A crazed symphony of thumps from falling rock and hisses from the Violet light meeting rubble played to her right, and the dust felt like it was coating her throat as she breathed it in. Miria held her breath and tried not to cough too much.

And then she was out of it. She took a deep breath of marginally cleaner air, noting that her fears were unfounded and taking care not to break her stride. From the light of the remaining Sunstones, she could see the Spiritshadows already slipping in from under the door while their Chosen masters grappled with the more physical methods of entry. She dove as one came straight at her and landed in front of her Merwin horn sword. She only managed to grab it and unsheathe it in time to parry the second Spiritshadow.

Now that the noise they created was dying down, Miria was aware of curses sounding from the other side of the door along with the sound of metal clanging. As she sliced at the Spiritshadows again, she saw Milla emerge from behind the light and rock out of the corner of her eye. At the same time, the door burst in as the Chosen behind it evidently gave up on the latch and turned to Light magic to blast their way in.

Miria pushed past the Spiritshadows to attack the two Chosen. One of them didn't react in time and was struck in the shoulder. The other, being more aware or perhaps just faster, ducked her other hand, the one still holding on to the sheath for her sword, in time and retaliated with a Red Ray of Destruction. Miria wasn't quite as lucky, and the top half of her sword was blasted off, leaving a short jagged blade. She cursed and stabbed the Chosen in the arm with the broken horn. She desperately willed Milla to be ready, but she didn't dare to turn and check.

Then a hand locked around her wrist and pulled her out of the door into the tunnel. Miria turned in time to catch her bow and her quiver. The familiar deadly whip danced, catching the Spiritshadows who'd followed them and slicing them into two, and slowing down their Chosen masters.

"Let's go!" yelled Milla, and started running down the tunnel. Miria followed, her arms still laden with her bow and quiver, broken sword and sheath. She clumsily sheathed the blood-stained Merwin horn sword as she ran, and slid the bow and quiver up on her shoulder. Then she buckled the sword at her side.

Meanwhile, Milla ran ahead, flicking the whip from the Talons at the small Sunstones set into the wall, causing them to die. But before the Sunstones darkened for good, they all let out one dying burst of light. Miria was caught off-guard on the first few and now had spots dancing in front of her eyes. After that she resolutely kept her eyes on her ground and told herself that it had to be done or the Spiritshadows would be able to pursue them faster than they could run.

Miria caught up with Milla and kept pace with her, running by her side, taking the turns without slowing down. Milla seemed to have cleared every Sunstone in this length of tunnel, since Miria could see nothing but the light of the Talons, glowing softly even though they weren't extended. Not enough to see by, but after the next turn there would be light once more. Her vision seemed to be clearing and she hitched her bow up as it began sliding down her arm again.

* * *

Milla continued to run. She wasn't out of breath, and she feared that they might be too late. Then, abruptly, she heard a sharp intake of breath from her left, followed by the sound of stumbling footsteps.

"What?" she asked sharply, turning her head slightly even though she could see nothing in the dark, not even by the light of the Talons.

"You stepped on my laces!" huffed Miria, sounding just the slightest bit indignant even in their current situation. Then, "Never mind, just run!"

Satisfied that it was not an attack, Milla continued running.

* * *

They first saw the end of the tunnel by the light of the last Sunstone. A solid wall. By mutual agreement Miria sped up to reach and open it before Milla snuffed the light out again.

The Talons extended and the whip unfurled into existence. Milla flicked it at the last Sunstone, carefully averting her eyes as she did so. It gave a final burst of light and died. Milla didn't pause. Not until she ran headlong into an obstacle.

At first she thought she missed and ran into the wall, but this felt considerably softer than rock and grunted as she felt the impact from their collision. Milla's mind processed her surroundings and she reached out, feeling for the crack in the wall where she could wedge her fingers into. The slab of rock covering the exit was heavier and harder to move than she expected, and she put all her strength into creating an opening wide enough for them to slip through.

Miria grunted again and the slab finally started to move with an irritated grumble coupled with the grate of rock on rock. When it was wide enough for her to slip through she let go and pushed through, running as soon as she was out. She knew Milla would be right behind her.

The sudden change in lighting disoriented the Icecarl, but she didn't stop. She felt Milla come from behind her to her side, and suddenly push the hilt of bone knife into her hand, one of the two that she managed to carry out with her. The rest were left behind, in the dark cavern where she hoped that the Chosen were bleeding to death. She tucked it into her sleeve, taking care to make sure that it wouldn't fall out.

Milla guided them to the main stairs, those that led aboveground. They both agreed without saying it out that their best course of action was to get to Tal as quickly as possible, so if Rhin happened to be bargaining at the moment, their appearance would effectively remove all the cards from his hand. And they also agreed that they would be at the highest possible level. Which meant a lot of climbing.

Climbing stairs didn't seem to faze Milla, but Miria was cursing by the time they were halfway there, around the Yellow levels. Not because she was out of breath, because she wasn't (or so she told herself), but because with every step she took, her boot felt like it was about to slip off. She didn't dare to stop to re-lace them, and she wasn't about to stop to kick off both boots either. She settled for concentrating on placing her foot on the next step with the boot intact.

Because she was so intent on keeping her boot on, she didn't notice as they cleared the last steps and Milla skidded to a stop in front of her. She slammed into Milla's rigid form and stumbled back, clutching her nose, which had suffered from its brief contact with the back of Milla's skull. About to ask why they had stopped, she peered around Milla. The question faded, only to be replaced by another.

"What in Dark's name happened here?"

**A/N: And this rounds up the longest chapter I have written (I think. I'm not exactly into counting words). However, it definitely IS the quickest update I've ever had for this fic (actually I'm not too sure about this either. You'd probably know better than I do). Anyway, thank you lkc for the motivation to update so quickly. Nothing like someone who actually discusses things with you to motivate you to work harder.**

**Anyway, I'm thinking that there's definitely no way I'm going to take another 365 days to finish this. For now. I'm only left with what? Another 1 or 2 chapters. I guess it's probably also the "When I finish this I can finally do something else" thought that's driving me on. The next update might not be this holiday, but I promise that it'll be before my birthday next year (don't worry, my birthday's early). I'm going to be a lot busier next year after all.**

**Side note: I'm still set on doing the Child/Spirit of Aenir fic (whichever title I choose), and I'm hoping to get opinions on it. Of course, whether anyone wants to read it or not isn't much of an issue, it'll take a few "Your work sucks, stop posting on this site" messages to stop me, and even then, they'd have to back it up, but I'd like to know what you'd like to see in it. Things such as focus on Aenir, change in writing style, more attention to details and stuff like that.**

**And yes, I shall shut up now, this author's note is waaaaaay long. But erm, review please? =)**


	15. Ending

**A/N: Congratulations to me, I just started the new school term and already want the holidays to come. Also, I'm so going to get killed for raising your hopes last chapter. By the way, I have also changed my pen-name.**

**Disclaimer: Right. I don't own The Seventh Tower. And also, my mood is sufficiently rotten that I don't feel like making this sound different.**

**Chapter 15 – Ending**

"What in Dark's name happened here?"

Violet Seven may not have been the most inhabited of levels, but for it to be completely empty of human presence was unnatural, and Milla automatically resisted the instinct to shiver. She raised her hand, and her Sunstone flared white, flooding the corridor with light. In the harsh light, the turns of the hallway stood out sharply, throwing deep shadows, shadows which faded as Milla lowered her hand, ascertaining that it was not an illusion. The whole level was truly empty, and as Milla thought back, she should have found it strange that they encountered no one on their way up.

A doll lay forlorn and abandoned in a corner, making Milla frown as she took it to mean that the hallways were evacuated in a rush. Clearly, the situation was unfavourable, from what she could make out from her initial assessment.

As Miria's outburst echoed around the hallway, a closed door further down eased open quietly, causing both Icecarls to tense and raise their weapons. Their fears were allayed as a sandy-haired head poked out cautiously. Milla relaxed a fraction and Miria followed.

Clovil gestured frantically for them to come in quickly, before putting a finger to his lips to imply that they should be quiet. Milla broke into a run, all the while making sure that her boots made no sound on the stone floor. Miria followed less gracefully, hobbling a little as she tried to ensure that her loose boot matched up to the other in the lack of noise.

Clovil waved them in and shut the door, just missing Miria's sleeve. She let out a small hiss of shock as her furs were nearly trapped between the door and its frame, eliciting a frantic glare from Clovil and another gestured order to be silent. The former Freefolk was now pressing his ear against the door, intent on listening for anyone coming outside.

The Icecarls took this chance to look around the room. Miria's eyes widened, while Milla's more controlled ones didn't betray her surprise. Most of the former Freefolk were gathered in this room. Milla looked at each one of them in turn. Clovil, at the door. Ferek, by the table. Gill, sitting next to him. Inkie, crouching beside an unconscious man that she didn't recognise. A man who was bound and gagged securely, and had no shadow. She assumed that the golden sack on the table had something to do with it. They had grown quite a bit since she last saw them.

All in all, a very welcome sight indeed.

Every conscious person in the room stiffened as the faint sound of heavy footsteps and questioning voices passed by outside. Miria didn't have to press her ear against the door to hear it. The voices were asking each other about the shout they heard. Then they passed, and everyone visibly relaxed. Clovil straightened up, which seemed to be a signal to start.

"Milla! And, er, Miria, too," Gill squealed breathily, jumping up. "How did you guys get here?"

"We escaped," replied Milla, keeping her voice down. Miria nodded, loose boot temporarily forgotten. "What happened here?"

Clovil, coming around to join his friends, gave a half-shrug and gestured around. "What you see. All Castle-dwellers are to gather in their chambers and not leave until the signal is given. All Icecarls are to stay at their respective stations and not leave until the signal is given. All profession leaders are to report to the Crystal Wood. All Shield Mothers and Crones to report to the Crystal Wood. That's where Jarnil and Bennem are now. Ebbitt too." Clovil jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the limp body behind him. "And we have Shadowlord wannabes going randomly all over the place to collect your Sunstones and make sure you behave. Dumb ones, at that. Never thought to check our underwear for Sunstones."

Gill flinched. "You didn't need to tell them that. Anyway, that's the situation here." She stepped forward and looked at the Icecarls with hope spreading across her face. "Word is that they want the Violet Keystone in exchange for your return. That it's taking place in the Crystal Wood because it's the only place large enough to accommodate all the rebels and the witnesses."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Milla asked sharply, wheeling around to face the door. But before she could take a step, Miria grabbed her arm.

"The patrol!" she hissed. "We don't know where they are now."

Milla hesitated, but she looked ready to charge off regardless. Then the sounds of the two rebels coming back stopped her in her tracks. Clovil pushed past them and pressed his ear against the door once more, for a few seconds. Then he raised his head and whispered a single word.

"Inkie!"

The stout girl nodded, and left her perch to join Clovil. He eased the door open, just enough to let her out. Then he shut it once more.

"Inkie will lead them off elsewhere," he explained to the rest. "We'll let her lead them out of range, then we'll head for the Crystal Wood ourselves."

"But she's on her own!" protested Miria, momentarily forgetting to keep her voice down. A sharp glance from Milla reminded her again, and she hushed immediately.

Clovil glanced at Gill and Ferek briefly, before fixing his gaze on Miria. She was very much like Milla where it matters, he noted, and he said evenly, "Inkie is the only one who'll be able to fit in the servant passages now if she needs to hide. She has the best chances among all of us."

Ferek nodded. "Clovil's right," he said, though Miria could swear she detected some regret in his hushed voice.

Clovil put a finger to his lips once more, cutting Ferek off. Miria concentrated and caught strains of pounding feet and fainter strains of shouts, which quickly became inaudible. Cautiously, Clovil eased the door open, stuck his head out to check that the coast was clear before opening the door wide open.

Milla was the first out, followed by Clovil, Ferek and Gill, who all passed crude weapons among themselves in addition to their Sunstones. Miria hesitated, looking back at the hog-tied and gagged rebel. "We're not leaving anyone behind to keep watch over him?"

Clovil gave a cursory look before answering. "No, and even if he does get free, we'll all be at the Crystal Wood already in any case, so there's no point."

Milla nodded, more to speed things up than anything else. She wasn't even looking at anyone, just staring down the path they were about to take.

Not entirely convinced, Miria left it at that nonetheless. When she took a step forward, the strange sensation in her foot reminded her that her laces were untied. Bending over, she quickly tied them, feeling four pairs of eyes burn into her back, and cursed herself for being so careless. The knot wasn't very satisfactory, but it would have to do. Following that, she ran out, taking care to shut the door behind her in case the patrol came back.

The others were already sprinting down the hallway. Miria let out a breath before following suit, her feet pounding on the stone floor loudly. She quickly overtook Gill and Ferek, lagging at the back of their little party, and caught up with Milla. All the while, her hands checked systematically through her bow and arrows while her mind took inventory of her other gear.

* * *

Clovil was leading. But not for long. Milla was running faster than usual, and soon overtook him. Meanwhile, Miria had to put in more effort to keep up. She was already tired from running all the way up to Violet Seven, though she retained enough pride to prevent from showing it in her posture.

As they blew past doors making enough noise to wake the dead, they had also gathered quite a following. Rhin's subordinates, hearing the commotion, had given pursuit, but Milla's company was protected by the few Castle-dwellers brave enough to step out and confront them. Miria could hear the sounds of battle from somewhere behind them.

"We'll be entering from the back," Clovil half-gasped, not exactly winded but starting to feel fatigued. Apparently, four years of living without constant fear of capture could do wonders to stamina.

Miria nodded to show that she heard and understood, and glanced over at Milla, who seemed set on bursting into the Crystal Wood with a deadly look on her face. If the situation wasn't so serious, she might have allowed herself a smile at her sister's reaction to Tal's impending doom, but right now, she couldn't muster one up, no matter how amusing she might find it.

… Right. And she found herself starting to regret being so hasty in lacing her boots. Her sloppy knots were already starting to loosen. Again. Miria cursed in her mind, a mantra that helped her maintain the cracking pace that Milla set. _…_

"One last turn, to the right!" warned Clovil from behind. Miria glanced at Milla again as she reached for her bow. This time, though, Milla met her eyes and jerked her chin ahead, a sign. Miria nodded to show that understood, and nocked an arrow into her bow, holding it low while her feet slowed slightly to let Milla go ahead.

They rounded the turn and Milla's Talons flashed, leaving slashes in the dull metal that the large double-doors was made of. Milla followed that with a kick that blew the right side of the door half off its hinges, and pushed the left side open. She immediately retracted her hands and took a step back to allow Miria a clear shot with her bow.

Miria swung her bow upwards with her momentum, and quickly scanned the crowd for her target. Dimly, she noted that the people sitting near the back had turned and were staring at them in shock, while Light played across crystal and created the horrible noise that passed for music in the Castle, and had also covered their entry. Her eyes scanned across the front of the Crystal Wood, dismissing target after target.

Her eyes found her target at last, just beginning to take hold of the Violet Keystone. Her lips tightened, along with her bowstring as she released her arrow, even as her mind finally registered the size of the Crystal Wood and screamed at her that it was a long shot.

* * *

Tal wasn't thinking too much when Rhin finally finished his overly-grandiose speech about succeeding him as Emperor and restoring the "true ways". He wasn't really thinking about what impact it might have on the Veil, on his people, when he mechanically ascended the platform with his Keystone, with pretentious music sounding all around and two Spiritshadows flanking him. In fact, he was trying not to think about it at all, because it made him feel sick inside.

But he really couldn't let two people die just like that, with many more slated to follow. Even if none of them were Milla, he had to admit that he would have made the same decision eventually, where fewer people were in danger. It was just that with Milla thrown into the mix, he came to the decision faster.

He tried not to think about her too, as he mechanically held out the Violet Keystone. He had the feeling that she would scream at him and try to kill him again. Why did that thought seem to comfort him somehow?

The Keystone had just left his hands and into Rhin's… And in the next moment, it had fallen to the floor and clattered away awkwardly. Tal saw Rhin's eyes widen and he let out a howl of pain. Tal didn't hesitate. He dove after the Keystone, rolling as he hit the ground. Righting himself, he immediately flipped around and cast a Violet Shield of Discontinuity with the Keystone. He made it just in time as several Red Rays of Destruction came flying in his general direction, nearly removing his arm.

What he saw, as he got to his feet, was an image of chaos. His people, and Milla's, had risen and were openly fighting against the Spiritshadows and their masters. Light rays from hidden Sunstones flashed all about the Crystal Wood, and the clear musical sound of the trees sang as the occasional stray beam hit them. Faintly glowing knives, extricated from sleeve pockets, sliced through the air, leaving afterimages. And in the middle of all this, fighting their way down the aisle, were two Icecarls with white-blond hair. One held a bow of bone, sending arrows of the same material into the fray while a halo of light danced around the other.

Behind them, more armed Castle-dwellers poured into the Crystal Wood through the open doors, even as non-combatants were carrying the wounded and the frail out to safety.

Tal couldn't help but feel his lips start to curve upwards in a slightly insane grin. This was the first chance he had to vent his frustrations in years. Rhin had disappeared once the battle started. Tal started into the mess after him, after sending thin beams of Violet at the two Spiritshadows rushing him.

* * *

Oddly enough, it was Miria who spotted Rhin first. He was directing a Light spell at a young woman, a mage running awkwardly with her back turned. Miria swiftly changed her target from one of his lackeys to him, sinking the arrow into his already-bloody forearm. She screamed to Milla that she had found him, although she had no idea if she could be heard at all in the cacophony.

Miria pushed past the Light mage, dimly aware that the pretty mage barely protested or looked up from her endeavour to cast a healing spell on one of the casualties being transported out. She found herself abruptly face to face with Rhin and his monstrosity of a Spiritshadow near the front, on the aisles.

His face told her that he was none too pleased to see her around. "I should have killed you," he spat, Light swirling in his Sunstone.

"Your mistake," she replied calmly, discarding her bow and drawing her broken sword to defend herself at close-range, all the while keeping an eye on his Spiritshadow, an Aeniran creature with no shortage of spikes and from the way it snapped its jaws, fangs.

Rhin didn't take too kindly to her matter-of-fact tone, and he unleashed a barrage of Light spells on her. At the same time, his Spiritshadow sprang into action. Miria screamed, whether a wordless reflex or a trained battle-cry she did not know, but she swung blindly in the direction of the shadow while throwing herself to the side to dodge the Indigo Cutters.

She breathed a little more easily as she saw a whip of Violet light form a noose around the shadow, and she rolled back onto her feet, focusing on the man in front of her. Miria shifted her grip on the hilt sword and thrust forward, consciously compensating for the length of her sword.

* * *

Milla was besieged by shadows. Being one of the few people in the entire Crystal Wood with an effective weapon against Spiritshadows _and_ Light magic, she found that she had to be everywhere at once. She barely managed to hook Rhin's Spiritshadow and keep it off her Miria. Now she had to balance keeping it occupied and keeping about ten other shadows equally occupied.

Having pushed them all back for a moment, Milla spared a glance at the opponent she should have been fighting. He was presently engaged in battle, and Miria did look like she was holding her own, but she didn't specialise in close combat. On the other side of the hall, Tal and Ebbitt were fighting back to back, holding off Spiritshadows and rebels alike. Clovil and Ferek were down to using knives against a large group of Chosen. She could not rely on help from any of them either.

The Spiritshadows were ready to attack again. Milla turned her gaze back to them, resolving to finish it off quickly.

* * *

The fight was not going well. The Merwin horn was reduced to nothing, her weapon just a hilt that she threw at Rhin as he wove in and out of the trees. Somehow they had managed to move into the actual Wood itself, and it had greatly enhanced Rhin's advantage, since she couldn't tell where the spells were coming from and the musical notes singing in disharmony distorted her sense of hearing as well.

In the trunk of a tree Miria saw a reflection of a Red Ray and ducked. The Ray whizzed above her head and hit the tree, producing harmless refracted rays around her as well as a clean, resonating note. Not that Miria noticed any of it, as she flipped her bone knife out of her sleeve and dove low in the direction of the Ray.

Out of sheer luck, she didn't hit a tree trunk but got Rhin's knees instead. He went down with an "oof!". Miria pushed herself up and drove the bone knife at his throat in one move, but she slipped and the knife missed, only getting his shirt.

Rhin grabbed her clenched fist and threw her off in one fluid motion. Miria's back hit the tree and she slipped to the ground, winded and dazed. She could only watch as Rhin towered over her, Sunstone swirling with Violet in a spell that she didn't know but assumed was immensely destructive. He smiled sadistically as he brought his hand up, getting ready to release the spell.

On her back, Miria swung her leg up and tried to kick him in the face, that he would easily dodge. Still laughing, he pulled back slightly to let her boot miss. But her laces were loose, and the boot slipped off… And hit him in the temple.

Everything seemed to happen very slowly then. Rhin seemed to stumble, his smile sliding off his face as her boot thudded to the ground. His hand fell, and his Sunstone with it. But she didn't know why, as her eyes fixated on the Sunstone, the light didn't dissipate, the spell didn't unravel like all other Light magic did when the caster lost concentration.

Instead, it left the Sunstone as a fully-formed Violet spell.

And burned a hole right through Miria.

**A/N: Ahaha, if the ending sucked… Well, it's about midnight here, I'm exhausted from weird activities… I did check through, but the basic quality of the writing isn't there so I can't make it that much better. Anyway, I made it by my deadline, so congratulate me on this too lol. It's short, yes, but oddly enough, this was one of the places I planned to stop years in advance. When I first thought of the additions to the original story I planned, this came up quickly. There will be one last chapter, and I can finally post this as 'Completed'.**

**This chapter is part of the mass upload of 18/02. Why 18/02? Because it's my 18th birthday, and I suppose I'm obliged to give out presents. I would love reviews too, so would you please make me a very happy person and review? xD**


	16. Beyond the End

**A/N: So sorry if I gave any of you the wrong impression the last chapter. Well, I've always planned it up till there, so what comes here is actually pretty new. This story as of now has the most reviews and chapters out of my repertoire, so I'm pretty proud of it.**

**On a side note, I AM OFFICIALLY A GREEN BELT IN TAEKWONDO.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Seventh Tower, but this has been a pretty great journey.**

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Beyond the End**

Milla's head snapped up as a scream rent the air. One of the Spiritshadows fighting her faltered, but she hardly noticed. She would recognise that voice anywhere. It was hers.

The fight was winding up. Bloodied humans decorated the aisles. Shadows faded out of existence. Before Milla's eyes, two Spiritshadows slid to the floor, while another was captured by a golden shadowsack. The Shield Maiden who held the shadowsack whisked two fingers to the side, giving the 'good-hunting' sign, which Milla didn't return. The twin whips of light retracted back into the crystal, which shrank back to nail-size. Once her path was clear she sprinted down the last few steps into the Wood.

Behind the trees of Crystal, more blood and gore awaited her. Even before she went close, she could see that blood had stained the trees at waist-level in a circle. A blood-smeared body lay next to a lone boot, unconscious. Rhin. Milla ignored him for the moment and stepped over him.

What she wanted to know, to see now was blocked from her line of vision by a crouching figure. He straightened when Milla approached. Before he even turned, she knew who he was. And by the way his lips were pressed into a line, she knew that the worst had happened.

Tal didn't say anything as she pushed past him to look at the body curled up on the ground. Her breath came out in hisses as she saw the bloodied furs, the broken sword, the bare foot.

The hole that ran straight through her midsection.

Wordlessly, Milla flipped her knife out of her sleeve and into her hand. She stepped back towards the other body, the one that lay unconscious and not dead.

Tal caught her upraised hand. "Don't."

"He killed my sister," said Milla stoically. "I should kill him. I should."

His grip on her wrist slackened for a second in his confusion, then tightened once more. "Don't," he repeated, sounding as though he was pleading.

"Let go of me," yelled Milla all of a sudden. "You don't understand, this is an _Icecarl_ thing – ."

"Will the two of you stop wasting time?" another voice cut her off. Milla twisted her wrist out of Tal's loosened grip to face Ebbitt, who was looking uncharacteristically serious. "You both have Sunstones. Use healing magic."

Milla shook her head as a bout of weariness overtook her. "You can't bring back the dead, Ebbitt." Now that the initial rush was over, she didn't feel anything but tired. She hadn't really wanted Rhin dead, it was just a knee-jerk reaction, one that passed as quickly as it came.

"She isn't, but she will be if you don't hurry," snapped Ebbitt, fingering his breastplate.

Not really believing Ebbitt, but humouring him anyway, Milla replaced her knife and raised her Sunstone. Beside her, Tal mirrored her action. Concentrating, she sent out a Blue Ray of Healing, while Tal sent out a Yellow Ray of Replacement. Together, they wove a Light spell in concert, one that would close the dreadful hole in Miria.

Meanwhile, Ebbitt explained about "sealing of blood vessels" and "blood from pulverised innards", but Milla concentrated on blocking that out and casting her Light spell. To her relief, the spell seemed to work, regenerating flesh while Tal's Yellow Ray regenerated structures. As the wound closed, Milla could see her chest rising and falling as she breathed, and she herself breathed more easily.

Finally, as the edges of the wound met and fused together, Milla stopped the Blue Ray and nearly sank to the ground in relief. She had not rested for a while, and the slight slump of her shoulders indicated it. Beside her, Tal cast her a questioning look.

"I am fine," she said, pre-empting his question. She tried to smile and was surprised to find that she could. "We still have much to do, do we not?"

Tal's expression relaxed. "Yes," he agreed. "But it'll be alright."

* * *

After clearing up the mess and tending to the injured, as well as securing the rebels, Tal went in search of Milla. The Castle was unnaturally quiet, he reflected, but that was probably because everyone was busy with their own duties. The Crones were kindly assisting the healers in the infirmary, which was currently so packed that some of the injured had to be dispatched elsewhere.

He found her in the room that was assigned to her when she first came to the Castle weeks ago. He knocked twice before entering, and was greeted by the sight of Milla sitting beside the bed where her sister lay unconscious. She didn't look up as he entered.

Tal cleared his throat to catch her attention. "How is she?" he inquired.

"She'll live," replied Milla, shifting to face him directly. He couldn't help but notice that she looked tired. Not that it was that obvious, but Tal knew more about Milla than anyone else did. He knew the signs.

Silence reigned for a moment, before Milla coughed. "Whoever plays out the Great Reckoner has a sense of humour," she said wryly, breaking eye contact with him. She looked back to the sleeping Icecarl, all bundled up to prevent her from going into shock.

"What?" Tal followed her gaze, and noted the uncanny similarities between the two Icecarls. But now that he looked carefully, there were differences. Subtle things, like how Milla still looked scary in her sleep but Miria didn't. Like the faint lines around Milla's eyes and mouth.

Milla made a sort of gesture towards the bed. "My sister, would you believe?" she said dryly. "We're rather different, as you can see."

"Really? The two of you seem rather alike to me," blurted Tal without thinking. He cursed himself mentally. It was very much like when he was fourteen and had met Milla for the first time. He couldn't control his tongue then either.

Milla gave him a sideways sceptical glance. "I see," she said.

"No, really," insisted Tal, feeling like the conversation was rapidly going downhill. Rapidly. "Both of you are brave and strong and I guess you can include stubborn as well. I didn't mean that in a bad way, it was a compliment, I mean… You know…" he trailed off.

He didn't know what reaction he would be getting in return, but Milla gave a small laugh. "Yes, actually, I do," she said with a trace of amusement in her voice. Abruptly, her tone darkened. "We might have grown up together. If…"

"If what?" prodded Tal.

"If I hadn't taken more than my share when our mother bore us," Milla finished flatly. "A weak Icecarl is hardly better than no Icecarl at all, and my parents didn't want a liability."

Tal didn't quite understand how it worked. "It isn't your fault," he protested. "You couldn't have known back then. Besides, everything turned out well in the end, didn't it?"

Milla stretched her arms above her head lazily. "True," she replied easily, without a trace of worry on her face. She lowered her arms. "In any case, she isn't holding it against me."

Feeling emboldened, Tal added, "She probably won't awake so soon. You should get some rest in the meantime."

"I should," Milla agreed. Getting on her feet, she stretched once more. "I'll go check in with the Crone Embassy first, though. You should get some rest yourself," she added as an afterthought.

"I will," replied Tal. "In a bit."

Milla looked as though she wanted to add more, but shrugged and left. "Thank you," she said quietly, before closing the door behind her.

Alone with Miria, Tal checked that she was breathing regularly. Just in case. "You have an amazing lot to live up to, you know?" he commented as he assessed her condition and adjusted the brightness of the Sunstones in the room. Satisfied with his findings, he dimmed the Sunstones entirely and left, intent on returning to his family chambers to check on Gref and Kusi.

* * *

It was the dull pain in her abdomen that told her that she was alive. That, and the throbbing in her head.

Slowly, her senses began to come back. She could hear the soft sounds of breathing from her left, feel the soft fabric under her hands, see the light that made her eyelids appear red. Dimly she recalled thrusting her leg out in a forward kick, but she never connected. _What happened_, she couldn't help but wonder.

Her eyelids lifted, slowly, allowing the soft Sunstone light to filter into her eyes. The first thing she saw was the cluster of Sunstones set into the ceiling, emitting their white light. _How pretty_, she thought inanely.

"Finally," a familiar voice said, and her eyes flicked to the left, sending a wave of pain through her head. "We were beginning to worry that you would never wake."

Miria's eyes fixed on the blurry image on her left, bring it into focus. Her War-Chief was there, leaning forward in concern. She felt vaguely irritated that she was constantly invalid, and there was always someone watching over her. Forcing her lips to part, she spoke. "Sorry to disappoint you." Her voice sounded hoarse and raspy, and she wondered how long she had been out.

The corner of Milla's mouth twitched, which she took to be a sign of discomfort. Now she regretted saying those words, but she wasn't really thinking so far ahead when she said them. She tried again. "Why am I still alive?"

"Light magic on our part, and a whole lot of luck on yours," replied Milla, her expression smoothing out. "You lost a lot of your insides, but nothing too fatal. You were still out for quite a few sleeps though."

Forcing her eyes to the left without turning her head was getting tiring, so Miria turned them back to the ceiling. "What happened while I was out cold?"

Milla shrugged. "Rhin and his supporters are imprisoned for now. The Assembly and the Crones will decide what to do with them. The Spiritshadows have all been sent back to Aenir. Ebbitt recovered the Codex. Thankfully, there were no fatalities."

Miria took in all the information silently, her eyes flickering from one Sunstone to another. "And now what?" she asked.

"I was going to come to that," replied Milla. "I was thinking of carrying out another expedition on the Ice, a small one. I think we've both seen enough of this mountain to last us a while."

"'We'?" repeated Miria. "You're taking me along?"

"Yes. That is, if you do not mind," added Milla hastily. "If you still wish to stay on the Ruin Ship, then you may."

"I don't mind," clarified Miria, her eyes focusing on Milla again. "As long as that is what you want."

"Why would I not want it?" asked Milla, feeling nonplussed. "I only wish to make up for lost time."

"Oh," Miria replied, sounding disinterested. Her attention returned to the ceiling. "You don't have to do that for me, you know. I meant every word I said back then."

"I'm not doing it for you," said Milla shortly. "I'm doing it for me." She stood up, dragging the chair across the floor with a rasping sound, and made as to leave. "We'll talk again when you're feeling better."

Just as she was about to shut the door, she heard Miria's voice once more. "I will go with you, but only you would know what you want."

* * *

Time seemed to pass very quickly after that. It didn't seem like very long before Milla found herself about to leave the Castle. Somehow, in all the chaos and administration matters, she had managed to find time to speak to all the former Freefolk. Clovil and Ferek mostly congratulated her, while Gill wanted her to stay longer, and Inkie didn't say much as usual.

Now, waiting at the front entrance of the Castle much earlier than the scheduled departure time, she leaned against the stone wall and made a checklist again. Ebbitt was taking the Codex along, of course, and they would have half a Hand of Shield Maiden cadets. There was going to be one Crone as well, not Malen but someone older. They would make a stop at the Ruin Ship first, before setting off. The Shield Maidens had already gathered, the rest were not yet present.

A movement at the edge of her field of vision broke her train of thought. Pushing herself off the wall, she turned to face the newcomer. But it was only Tal.

He stopped a few paces away from her. Milla couldn't help but notice that he had grown much taller since their last adventure together. He was taller than her by a fair bit. His face seemed to have lost some of its naiveté too, though there was still enough of it for her to see the boy who had fought Sharrakor alongside her.

"Are you here to see us off?" Milla said finally, breaking the silence. She had not spoke to Tal since that time after the battle, and while she missed his presence to an extent, she had felt uncomfortable discussing her departure with him.

"N- I mean yes," he replied, looking about as discomfited as she felt. He glanced at the Shield Maidens, who were very professionally ignoring them. "Do we have time to go elsewhere?"

Milla shrugged. Tal took it as an affirmation, and led her along the Red Corridors. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"You haven't seen it yet, have you? The Red Garden," he said, smiling gently. "It was Dad's idea, to have a place like this every few levels and not just on the higher floors. Plus it gives the gardeners a job, maintaining the gardens. Now that we can't go to Aenir, this is the next best thing."

Milla nodded and kept pace with him. Privately, she thought that she wouldn't care very much for what the Castle used as substitutes for Aenir, but it probably meant something to Tal, so she kept quiet and followed.

The Red Garden was, admittedly, aesthetically pleasing. Shrubs, trees, grass, and the occasional crystal sculpture. Plus one fountain. Milla couldn't deny that it was artistic, but she was not an expert in that area.

They stopped in front of a statue ringed by rose shrubs. Milla raised her head to look at it. It featured a Sword Thane flanked by a Shield Maiden, both of whom Milla personally knew. Jarek and Kirr.

"We have one statue like this in every garden," Tal said conversationally. "There's no particular… hierarchy, you could say, but Crow is in the Violet Garden."

"He deserves to be accorded the highest honour," stated Milla, observing how the sculptor had made it seem like Jarek and Kirr were watching each others' backs, even though he had probably never met them in person. It seemed only fitting that they were remembered this way.

For a few moments silence reigned. Milla waited expectantly. She knew that Tal had something to say, and she had a good idea of what it was. Which was why she waited patiently. She understood that she would probably have difficulties finding the right words if it were her.

"I like you," Tal finally said, looking at her but not meeting her eyes. "You know… As in _like_."

She couldn't help smiling. It wasn't a mocking smile, it was an understanding one. Even though she saw it coming, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit flattered, which was a feeling unfamiliar to her. "So do I."

"Really?" Tal asked eagerly, and she could detect a trace of relief in his voice. He met her gaze. "Then will you… That is to say, can you stay?"

"If you asked earlier, then I would." She noticed a marked dimming in Tal's face as she answered. "Right now, though, there's still one more thing I have to do first."

"I understand," said Tal, trying to mask his disappointment but not really succeeding. Or maybe it was because she was Milla that she could see through it so clearly.

"However, I will permit you to ask me this question again one circling from now," continued Milla, watching Tal's face brighten again and feeling amused. "We will meet here again in one circling. I swear this on the name of Danir."

"It's a promise," agreed Tal. "Shall we bind ourselves to this?" he asked, only half-jokingly.

Milla's smile widened. "There's no need to. However, I will ask you to hold on to this," she twisted the Talon on her left hand off her finger and tossed it to Tal, "until we next meet."

Tal caught the magical fingernail and brought it close to him, closing his hand around it protectively. "Won't you need it?"

She shook her head. "There is nothing that will require the Talon on the Ice," she replied, amusement audible in her voice. As an afterthought, she warned, "I'll be wanting it back though, so keep it safe."

"I wouldn't dare to do otherwise." Tal grinned, and held up his bare wrist. Milla returned the smile and stepped forward, pressing her wrist against his, so that their matching triple scars touched.

* * *

Later, when Milla's company was making its way down the icy cold mountain path in the darkness, with her at its head, Miria finally popped the question.

"So did you two talk about what I think you talked about?" Her voice came out muffled through the mask. Miria had seen Milla returning with Tal, and both of them looked happy. Or rather, she thought peaceful would have been a better description.

"What do you think we talked about?" countered Milla, hoping to stall for time. She fiddled with her Wreska hide gloves, pulling them onto her hands. She hadn't quite expected the weather to be so cold, so she wasn't wearing them when they departed.

Through the amber lenses of her bone mask, Miria shot a covert glance at Milla's left hand. With the dim light and the mask it was hard to see, but she could clearly tell that the Talon wasn't on its usual place on her finger. So she dropped the subject. "Never mind. I already know. So, where are we going to explore?"

Milla finished lacing her gloves to her sleeves and looked up. The pale green light from the moth-lamps played off the mask, making Miria appear ghastly. Not that it mattered, because Milla knew better than anyone what lay under it. "Where do you want to go?"

She shrugged in reply, watching the path ahead of them. "Anywhere, as long as it's with you."

* * *

**A/N: And with this, **_**Mirroring the Light**_** is now complete. COMPLETE, you hear? You may now take this off your alerts.**

**Before I leave this place for good, though, I would like to award credit where it's due.**

**First to **_**Perennial Rhinitis**_**, for being such a faithful reader/reviewer. Thanks for sticking with me for so long!**

**To **_**lkc159**_**, for holding that aimless conversation with me that motivated me to push forward. (You're probably won't see this for a while because of NS, jiayou!)**

**To all those who have read and reviewed in all these three years, including **_**Azarathed**_**, **_**MaximumTwilightRider**_**, **_**Bane-Treller**_**, **_**kylesanchez**_**, **_**Monsieur Incognito**_**, **_**Douggy**_**, **_**noc**_**, **_**SweetTangerine**_**, **_**Kewix**_**, **_**23lilly**_**, **_**Obsessive Child**_**, **_**Yumerin**_**, and **_**StevenDensmore**_**.**

**Now that I'm done with this, I feel that I've grown somewhat over these past three years. I don't intend to rewrite the first few chapters, because it's so nice to just read the whole thing and think "whoa, I've gotten better". Again, thank you for helping me grow.**

**And here's a bit of an advertisement: I'm planning another fanfic for this fandom that might show up in the next few months. It revolves around Aenir, so if you have any opinions on this I'll be glad to hear them.**

**I would love to receive reviews, because this is THE last chapter after all, and it would make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but hey, no pressure whatsoever :D**

**Thank you.**


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